Friday, April 6, 2012

Iris Takes to the Air(waves)

His Imperial Majesty made his first TV appearance of the year on BBC1's One Show, on Thurs April 5th. In addition to a brilliantly cryptic hibernating larva ('Hamlet'), filmed recently in the nether regions of Savernake Cathedral, viewers were treated to some great out-takes from Butterflies a Very British Obsession (TX BBC1 Dec 2010). These clips included a male iris feeding on the ground (Fermyn Woods, 2009), a male landing on the Goose Green Inclosure, Alice Holt, 'master tree' - the Summit Sweet Chestnut (also filmed in 2009) and a timelapse sequence of snow melting over a larva (my garden, Jan 2010).

The piece also showed Paphia having a great time at Bookham Common and in Straits Inclosure, Alice Holt, and various other friends and relations, including a clip showing the great cardui invasion of 2009.

But the truth is that His Imperial Majesty needs and merits his own BBC TV channel, and his own BBC radio station (which should also host Test Match Special). This requirement will be included within the Purple Party's next election manifesto.

Post Scriptum: His Grace the Duke of Burgundy put in a timely appearance today on Rodborough Common, in the Gloucestershire Cotswold hills. This we believe to be the earliest record of His Grace on the wing in Great Britain (though there is a vague Hampshire record for late March in 1893, only the grammar in the relevant sentence is so poor that the record may refer to another species).

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