Sep 1: A Place called England

This is a vocal rendering of a song about the changing nature of England's 'green and pleasant land'.

It's by a group called The Young 'Uns, who perform vocal arrangements of songs.

Listen carefully to the lyrics to get a sense for its focus:

For England is not flag or empire, it's not money, it's not blood
It's limestone gorge and granite fell, it's Wealden clay and Severn mud
Blackbirds singing from the May-tree, lark ascending through the scales
Robin watching from your spade and English earth beneath your nails

What landscapes would you choose to represent the best of England?

Image: Castle Acre, Norfolk - in a place called England - image by Alan Parkinson, shared on Flickr under CC license.

Apr 17: Morecambe Bay

Morecambe Bay is the name of a piece of music by Alex Gifford that was included on a compilation album released by Real World records in 1993 called 'Plus from Us'.

Morecambe Bay itself is a large tidal area of sand in the NW of England. 

The area came to prominence in the news for a very sad reason in 2004.

A group of Chinese migrants who were being employed picking cockles on the sand were caught out by the speed of the rising tide. 22 people were drowned in total by the rapid incoming tide.

It's a place I've visited a few times over the years.

It was also the location selected for the AQA GCSE Pre-release material in 2025. Here's an aerial video made by Mr. B.