Costa Rica

Crosstown traffic.......in, er Mexico City!

Whilst London was crippled by the ongoing tube strike, I decided to sit it out at home. Both my book meetings (yesterday and today) were cancelled due to the industrial action. My meeting with A&C Black is now scheduled for tomorrow and we will be discussing an idea that has been on their table now for over nine years - yes, it read it right - nine years!

It's an idea for a field guide that first came to me when I was perhaps 11 years old. I will break the idea down in more detail if and when I get properly commissioned to do it. It will be a labour of love and there will almost certainly be no money in it. The other idea with the other publisher is far more straight forward. It will probably be called The Urban Birder and I think the title speaks for itself.

My trip to Helsinki has been confirmed for the end of the month. I will spend 3 days wandering the city with a guide looking for owls and other goodies during their perpetual daylight. In fact my guide will be picking me up from my hotel at 3am to start our day. But the bear filming element of my stay looks in doubt as permissions and agreements have to be granted by several sources before Malka (my camera operator) can be allowed to come. The worse case scenario would be that only I would go up to witness this amazing spectacle. I'll keep you informed.

I got called today by the RSPB who asked me to go to Edinburgh before mid-July to go on a boat ride up the Forth of Firth to watch seabirds. This would be for an article that I would have to write before mid-July for the autumn issue. I thought that by going to Edinburgh it would be a great opportunity to nip across to Glasgow for a couple of days to research for a Bird Watching Magazine urban birding piece. So I got on the phone to the Scottish Tourist Board and within minutes they sent me a press trip form to fill in. Now that's what I call service!

Finally, I received another email from the tour company that had invited me to Costa Rica. it contained the main guy's cell number, so I'm going to give him a bell right now.

See ya!