Flying Under The Radar

29th May
The dragonfly larva are sneaking out of the tank when our backs are turned. We go off and film spiders or stop for lunch to find another empty skin is attached to one of the reeds on our return.

We know the remaining larva are ready to go at any moment because they are no longer paying any attention to the tadpoles we put in the tank - a treat they normally hunt down voraciously. We now have them under constant surveillance. Dragonfly larva have very good vision so if they catch us looming over their tank they duck back under the water and get behind some weed.

Smellyvision

25th May
The dead badger that we are filming in the orchard is getting quite smelly now. The whiff is detectable from our front door but the Camera Boys have been doing some macro filming right up close to the body and they’re looking a bit green.

As a break from the badger, they're preparing to film a dragonfly larva emergence. We've set up a big tank of pond water with aquatic plants and creatures in it, it's surrounded by lights and cameras. There’s a clump of stiff grass fixed in the middle of the tank and when they’re ready, the dragonfly larva will climb up a grass stalk and shed it’s last skin before becoming an adult and flying off. Several likely-looking candidates are swimming around in the tank and we’re all keeping a close watch on them for signs of emergence.


Someone found out that the old radio in the house will work if a tub of salt is placed on it. We've discovered a surreal radio station that plays a fantastically eclectic mish mash of music, I think it’s run by a co-operative; a piece of Schuman will follow hip hop or flamenco, there’s a Latino enthusiast who puts in a lot of chachacha when he’s in charge of the decks but they curb the heavy metal enthusiast by giving him his own show in the evenings. They play back to back music for an hour or so then someone reads out small ads on a sort of endless tickertape ...

Laurent from Beauville seeks a fridge, call him on 06 065 0982, Marie in Dodon has found a small black dog, if you have lost a dog call her on 06 986 8761, Eric wants to sell his sofa it is black vinyl and a little bit damaged but still extremely comfortable, suitable for a student perhaps call him ...