The Old Hack

Many British readers under the age of about 50 may not recognise the abundance of yellow flowers in the picture below.  I took the photgraph this-afternoon along one of the many country roads I travel each day - most of which resemble this and whose verges are brilliant with the tiny beauties.

Let me put you young townies out of your misery - they are cowslips, and right now are by far the commonest flower to be found in Poitou-Charente.  Sometimes they are grouped alone, and sometimes with a small blue flower which seems to be a miniature version of the garden hyacinth, or a white flower reminiscent of a snowdrop but far smaller.

I can't identify these wild flowers - until recently I have to confess that I could not even have identified the cowslip.  What is every day a wonder to me, however, is how this countryside abounds with nature in a relatively unspoiled state in comparison with the UK I left behind.

Today alone, I took note of four buzzards (one of which narrowly missed my windscreen on take off!) at least a dozen colourful Jays, two herons and a whole host of (as yet) unidentified species of small bird.  Oh - and perhaps two dozen or so magpies.  I mention this because, wondering why the cowslip is so rare in Britain, I came upon an article by a British countryman laying the blame fairly and squarely (don't ask me to explain the convoluted argument) at the feet of the British public's disgust at the shooting of magpies, which abound and which (for some reason I could not fathom) prevent the cowslip from flourishing.

I've seen many sights here in France that I'm not comfortable with.  Whilst foxhunting happily does not occur in these parts, riflemen tend to shoot at anything they could possibly eat.  But magpies?  Why on earth would anyone want to shoot a magpie?  Maybe so that the cowslip can flourish here...  In case you were in doubt at the first photo, here is a close-up of the little yellow marvel.  Can you spot the magpie in the distance?