WISDOM AND TRADITIONS GATHERED OVER A LIFE AT THE COALFACE, THIS WEEK WITH DAVID WHITBY
Some 50 years ago, I travelled from Swansea to Cork by ferry on my first trip to Ireland. I had barely gone five miles when the vehicle was brought to an abrupt halt. Sitting there on the edge of the road was the first hooded crow I had ever seen.
Delighted as I was to spot this magnificent corvid, that delight turned to shock by the time I reached Killarney. I had never seen so many vermin; hooded — the Irish call them ‘grey’ — crows were everywhere, along with magpies galore, thousands upon thousands