Not really sure where this is going, but driven on by my post holiday blues, boredom, and a need to get up to date, I am entering the world of blogging.
Not sure either what future content will be, but I am already experiencing a ghastly feeling that it may well be a sorry tale of rare birds dipped, (technical expression - stop the innuendo now - it means 'missed'), Burnley Premier League games in which another defeat is snatched from the jaws of victory, and other such tales of woe.
But let's be optimistic on this momentous occasion.
Maybe, (stay with me!), just maybe, it will be a happy tale of the achievement of 500 birds seen by yours truly in the UK over the next few years, and my beloved Burnley's incredible successes in the Premier League, culminating in the domination of European football from the small, (pop. just 80,000!), down on its luck ex-mill town in the foothills of the Lancashire Pennines, (okay, I admit, it red wine is involved - probably Claret).
So lets establish those two baselines for future reference.
1. Having been a birdwatcher all my life, and a birder for all of my adult life, and a twitcher until practical sensibilities, (family, company), kicked in, I have amassed a UK / British life list of some 460 species, (sort of depends on who is counting, me updating my lists, etc.). Okay so I am a low-lister in relation to some, but it is my achievement, and I like it, and I have enjoyed fantastic experiences along the way; and,
2. Having been a Burnley fan since I moved there, (complimentary tickets from a First Division footballer neighbour, to sit in a then state-of-the-art stand and watch First Division football was very persuasive for a 10 year old!), I am finally going to witness them in the Premier League for the first time.
Burnley won the old First Division Championship the year I was born, but with the abolition of wage limits, (cheers Jimmy Hill), they could no longer compete with the big city teams, and so in 1975/76 they were relegated into the old Second Division for the second time within a few years. The decline didn't end there, and in 1987, Burnley, one of the 12 founder members of the Football League, had to win the last game of the season, (the notorious / infamous 'Orient game'), to retain their league status in the very first season that teams could be relegated to non-league obscurity, (at the very least). They did, but it was a long, long, long way back.
But now, after a momentous season in both the Championship and the Cup competitions, Burnley are back in the big league for the first time in my adult life!
Okay, this is getting a bit geeky, I'll get my anorak, and see you next time.
