Heroic tales

Those that couldn't do it - because they were too old, lacked the courage or were needed in other places - could only admire these brave lads from afar. They sent them messages -

"Go and do it for all of us that cannot"

"No regrets. Just do it now"

And when these heroic men succeeded, they were showered with more tributes -

"Well done"

"Well done indeed, great work!"

"Who dares wins!"

Are we talking about Second World War Spitfire pilots here? No. Intrepid explorers discovering wonderous things in far-flung wilderness? No. Brave firefighters risking their lives on a daily basis? No, not them either... we a talking about birders who got in a car, drove a few miles and saw a bird that somebody else had found. Welcome to the world of Twitter! Welcome to what passes as success and which draws admiration in the 21st century! I think I need to time travel back to an era when things weren't so f***ed up...

Comments

Tim Allwood said…
Good post Steve.

At 20 and 21, My father flew Lancasters over Germany till he was shot down. Two of the crew died. Although I'm only 44 it does give me a contact with history that most don't have.

http://www.bomberhistory.co.uk/Canal%20raids/Loss%20details/Loss%20PB192.html

Not sure he'd have managed to find Spurn on a Thursday afternoon with a Sat Nav though...

Still, they did it for us. The twitchers I mean...

Seriously though, at least finding your own birds on your own patch is becoming popular at the moment. And greener. But the twitchers don't hurt anyone and maybe they have shockingly bad patches. Perhaps we should be grateful to live in such uneventful times?
26 April 2013 at 10:21
Steve Gale said…
Thanks Tim. As much as most of my moans are tongue-in-cheek, some are not! You're right, no harm is being done.
26 April 2013 at 13:36
Andrew Cunningham said…
Nail hit on the head by Steve.

Nail also hit on the head by Tim.
27 April 2013 at 22:29
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