WHISPERING SMITH: Barny, living proof of the wise ways of co-operation

Well, if you are a friend of mine, you do what he did, he stopped and gave it a lift. The bird chirped a little chirp, offered no resistance and settled quietly on his finger.

Back in the car, his wife took charge of the bird, while he drove them on to Grove Lodge for a check-up, only the bird that is, not his wife!

The veterinarian told them that the owl was extremely weak and thin, probably due to the long, bad winter and poor hunting conditions and was, sadly, unlikely to survive.

They gave it some TLC and passed it onto WADARS, who said and did much the same, before passing it on for some more specialised R n R at Chichester’s Brent Lodge Bird and Wildlife Trust charity.

There, it was hand-fed, warmed up in an incubator and nursed for several days, gradually showing signs of improvement. Now able to feed itself, flexing its muscles and, with time off for good behaviour, Barny is to be released back into the wild, one healthy owl.

Point here is that my friend, Grove Lodge, WADARS and Brent Lodge never stopped trying – they all pulled wonderfully together to save this one little critter, no bureaucracy, no question of money, no problem.

If you love birds and animals as much as I do, it was a delightful outcome and I would ask that, whenever a local wild animal charity asks for your support, think of Barny somewhere out there, swooping along the hedgerows, that ghostly bird, that magical eidolon you very occasionally hear or, if you are exceptionally lucky, see hunting the moonlit evening fields so close to LA.

APRIL 1, start of the summer parking restrictions and council wardens were out bright and early, merrily slapping tickets on car windscreens where a simple first-day reminder would have done the job. Exactly the same procedure as last year, with no warning to the locals.

Another well thought through, cynical money-raising exercise by Arun to win the hearts and minds of the local populace!

They really are in need of a PR person, although what a thankless job that would be!