19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 6
March 2nd, 1809. We are back in Portugal at last. It has been a circuitous journey across ridges and valleys, avoiding the French troops on the lower ground, but we have managed it without any [more…]
Animals
19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 5
January 19th, 1809. Our return to Lisbon will not be like our march north. Then we were travelling with an army in good order on broad roads through a populated area near the coast. Now [more…]
19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 4
September 19th, 1808, Lisbon. We are in port at last, and I am glad to have my paws on the ground. It was a difficult passage out of the Channel, and we had to tack [more…]
19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 3
June 12th, 1808. I take up my pen again in London, where Jem and I have arrived after our hasty departure from Cambridge. It is quite understandable that Jem, unpaid by his lordship for more [more…]
19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 2
March 6th, 1807. George is off to Italy, where I am sure he will have a capital time ogling churches and whores, and buying paintings that might be by Salvator Rosa but are probably not. [more…]
19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 1
Cambridge, Novr. 6th, 1805. I did not dance well at the Bonfire Night show on Midsummer Common. Afterwards, Fred said to me, ‘Daisy, me ole dear. Yer knows and I knows yer gettin’ a bit [more…]
Animals
Fish and their Chips
You’ve seen the creation of the Aquarium, introduction of the fish and corals and watched it settle in. The set up took around three months from initial purchase, fit out, water conditioning and maturing to [more…]
Animals
Aquarium – Corals
With all the fish in place, the next step up is coral. There are two types generally stocked, soft Corals and Hard Corals – the soft ones are easier to look after, needing less light, [more…]
Animals
The Inhabitants Arrive
The tank is in place, the systems all built, the water and rock conditioned – the impurities are down to 2 or 3 parts per MILLION (nitrates, nitrites, ammonia and phosphate). Things were starting to [more…]