Village peacocks saved from cull
Peacocks in a South Yorkshire village are to be left alone despite complaints they were pests.
Finningley has allowed the birds roaming freely around the neighbourhood for decades, but some villagers had called for them to be culled, claiming they were creating mess, disturbing the peace and damaging cars.
Twenty two Indian peafowl live in the village, including eight adult males, seven adult females and seven young.
A petition set up in support of the Finningley peacocks received hundreds of names, with residents calling them a tourist attraction.
Following a meeting, Finningley Parish Council chairman Richard Johnson said there was no way the birds would be killed. No action will be taken against the birds and they will continue to roam freely around the village duckpond.
How plastic bags were supposed to save the planet, not throttle it
The family of inventor Sten Gustaf Thulin have told the BBC how his design 'was supposed to help the planet' and how he'd be 'shocked and upset' to see what's happened. Sobering.
From flat caps to Stranger Things: How our environment is shaping our shopping habits
Latest sales figures show that while environmental concern has had a huge impact on our buying habits, we're still influenced by our favourite television series.
Reusable cutlery, straws and water bottles were among the most popular items bought from John Lewis over the past 12 months, showing consumers' preferences to move away from throwaway plastics.
Our appetite for following trends of our on-screen obsessions was also indicated in the figures. There has been a boom in Peaky Blinders inspired flat caps and an increasing demand for retro styles thanks to Netflix's Stranger Things.
On this day...
On 18 October, 1922 the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) was founded, later renamed the British Broadcasting Corporation. The BBC is the world's oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees.
Saving Britain's buildings
Historic England's latest survey of some of our great, at-risk buildings has raised concerns about all sorts of wonderful structures, from ancient bridges to eye-catching lighthouses.
The Dovercourt lighthouses in Harwich are among the affected places: 'The fabric of the buildings is deteriorating and if work is not carried out, this precious landmark could be lost,' says Rachael Turner in her report for Country Life.
And finally... Anyone fancy a holiday in a Nazi stronghold?
'One of the largest Nazi-era bunkers in Germany is to be converted into a luxury hotel with a five-storey roof garden,' reports The Times.
Flak Tower IV in Hamburg is a vast fortress built in 1942 to shelter 18,000 people from Allied bombing raids — and while it's been used as a music venue in recent years, it's little changed. Now, however, a Spanish developer now hopes to turn it into a 136-room novelty hotel, with a rooftop garden when anti-aircraft guns once trained their sights on British and American planes. No wonder opponents of the scheme have labelled it 'macabre'.
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If the future of Ferrari is electric vehicles, then it is our future tooIt's widely believed that Ferrari will unveil its first electric car this year. It's the signal that the internal combustion era is coming to an end.
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Gaze over Cap Ferrat in this four-bedroom French villaIgnore the wind and the rain. Imagine yourself in this hillside home with some of the best views the Mediterranean can offer.
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The brilliant tractor tribute to the NHS from a group of Warwickshire farmersPeople around Britain have been paying tribute to the efforts of our NHS workers at the time of the coronavirus pandemic — but few have been as creative and clever as this one.
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London's iconic red bus at risk and 6,000 year old chewing gum gives clues into our DNA historyCuts to industry subsidies and an increase in fares has left bus use at its lowest point ever, while DNA extracted from ancient 'chewing gum' allows scientists to decipher the genetic code of a Stone Age woman.
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90-million-year-old 'swimming dinosaur' skeleton found by dogs out walking in Somerset, and the nonchalant moths who don't bother fleeing enemiesA superbly intact dinosaur skeleton — described as being 'museum quality' — has been discovered on a beach in Somerset.
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Battle to ban 4x4s from the idyllic Lake District spot bequeathed by Beatrix Potter, eagle fights octopus and the 'snail's pace' climate talksThis morning we look at Little Langdale's fight for peace, reflect on the climate change talks in Madrid and discover the soundtrack for Brexit.
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Country Life Today: How Greta Thunberg shifted the dial on climate change — and the backlash shows just how muchThis morning we ponder whether Greta Thunberg is the Joan of Arc for the environmental movement, look at a key election — one from 19 years ago — and ponder the marvel of 'dad tidying'.
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Country Life Today: Great news for those who love our great country pubs — the years of decline are overThere is a great sign of health in the pub industry, we look back at Edward VIII's abdication message and fret about Greenland's melting ice.
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Country Life Today: Spain accused of being 'a deplorable choice' for UN climate conferenceA no-holds-barred assault on the Spanish fishing industry, Banksy raising awareness of the homeless and the woes of the Christmas jumper are in today's news round-up.
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Country Life Today: 'This is perhaps the ultimate wake-up call from the uncontrolled experiment humanity is unleashing on the world’s oceans'In today's round up, we examine why oxygen loss is putting oceans at risk, discover that action to cut air pollution brings almost immediate benefits to human health and find out which bird's arrival marks the start of winter in Gloucestershire.
