Mr Big Lou

Whilst flicking through the new Radio Times the usual assortment of unwanted advertising material dropped out and landed on to the sofa where Big Lou was taking his mid-morning nap. He raised his head and reached out his huge paws to rest on one of the scattered brochures. It would appear that he was strangely drawn by the picture of a Bullfinch whose beady little eye seemed to follow him in a slightly unnerving manner.

On closer inspection we discovered that what we had assumed to be rubbish, destined for Fillipa's industrial scale recycling operation, was in fact very interesting. It was an offer to join the RSPB with 3 free months and a choice of a free gift. Whilst he was still awake I decided to read some of the details out to Big Lou.

"As a member of the RSPB you will receive:

• Welcome pack bursting with information.
• Entry to over 100 nature reserves.
• BIRDS magazine four times a year. With over 100 pages, this great read is exclusive to RSBP members.
• A choice of either a FREE handbook of British birds, which illustrates over 280 species, OR a FREE bird feeder and seed."

Unfortunately I had failed to notice that I had lost Big Lou's attention sometime during the brief oration and he had in fact "dropped off" again. It was at that point I hatched a mini master plan, I would enrol Big Lou with the RSPB as a present for achieving such a glowing report from the veterinarian.

I dashed to the comms room and opened a portal to the outside world. I found the required website and completed the ubiquitous "apply online" procedure. To my absolute delight there was the facility to purchase a membership as a present. It therefore gives me great pleasure to make the following announcement:

The newest member of The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is

Mr Big Lou of Cuddesdon.

The "Mr" had been inserted automatically as it was one of the mandatory fields. However, on reflection I think Big Lou will be very pleased with the air of sophistication it gives him.

We are now on tenterhooks as we await the delivery Big Lou's membership pack which includes his very own membership card. Incidentally the free gift I selected for him was the "Handbook of British Birds". It turns out there is still some debate as to whether our peanut peckers are being ravaged by Great Tits or Blue Tits. I am hoping that Big Lou will use the manual to conduct some much needed research and clear the matter up for us once-and-for-all. Exciting times ahead. As Rez has often said "The wildlife of Cuddesdon is safe in our paws".

http://www.rspb.org.uk/