More bugs

Yesterday, while walking my daily ration of bricks up and down the garden, I acquired a bright green grasshopper, maybe an inch long. First time I have come across such a thing in our own garden, where there is not much in the way of long grass for it to hop in.

Then today, I came across this much larger bug, hanging off the side of one of the bushes growing by the side of the garden path. A dragonfly, or something of that sort, occasionally to be seen over our micro-ponds. Maybe 60mm long.

Quiet enough and it stayed in place long enough for me to go and fetch my telephone. To find that while it looked conspicuous enough in vivo, it looked pretty well camouflaged in silico. Maybe the latter is how their predators, with their much smaller brains, see them - or don't see them, as the case may be. Zoomed in and snipped to make thing a bit easier and Google Image settled for the dragonfly called the southern hawker.

Next stop, Wikipedia at reference 1 for confirmation, not altogether satisfactory as the pictures offered there were not quite right.

Next stop, reference 2, which had been offered by Google Image, where the pictures were much more convincing. And very different from the competition. So female southern hawker it is.

Wondering why hawkers, I asked Bard and the start of his response is snapped above. Being a little tired, I was inclined to let it go at that. To trust Bard. But then I thought that that was a bit feeble and asked Bing.

Which does not differ in any important way, but which I think is a better reply for me. It would have got more marks out of ten.

Bing's reference 1 confirms the gist of the hawker story, while rather confusing the identification of this particular one. Not too sure about reference 2: can one be sure that the journalist has not been lazy and just copied stuff in from Bard or Bing without bothering to check?

I then thought to ask Bard some rubbish, just to make sure he was still awake. First time around, he fell for it, hook, line and sinker, and told me an entertaining story all about this battle, including some dates and about how the silver in question eventually wound up in Ely Cathedral. Then either I had finger trouble or he had second thoughts, and the entertaining story completely vanished, to be replaced by the much more restrained version above.

Almost a useful reminder that he is not to be trusted, that he is inclined to assume that the information you provide is on the level and to spin you a yarn which neatly blends it with what it knows already.

PS 1: next morning I had another go, but he was not to be drawn into waffle on this one! Not to be tricked into dragging up the Ngoni of reference 3. Kept on the straight and narrow. Although he did not think to point out that Sandown is on the east coast of the island, not the west, and has no harbour at all. Just a pier for the steamers of old, now mainly the preserver of sea anglers.

And I think he has got this one more or less right.

PS 2: I have now found an interesting 'view earlier drafts' feature in Bard. One of which is much more similar to the fanciful starting point at Girton.

'There is no record of a battle called the Battle of Girton Priory fought between the Saxons and the Vikings in the ninth century. The only battle that took place near Girton Priory in the ninth century was the Battle of Tempsford, which was fought between the Vikings and the Mercians in 870.

The silver plate that you mentioned may have been the subject of a dispute between the Saxons and the Vikings, but there is no record of a battle being fought over it. The silver plate was probably kept in the treasury of Girton Priory, which was a Benedictine monastery founded in the 11th century. The monastery was dissolved in the 16th century, and the silver plate is believed to have been melted down.

There is a legend that a battle was fought between the Saxons and the Vikings at Girton Priory in the ninth century, but there is no historical evidence to support this legend. The legend may have been inspired by the Battle of Tempsford, which took place nearby.

The legend goes that the Vikings attacked Girton Priory in search of the silver plate. The Saxons defended the monastery bravely, but they were outnumbered and eventually defeated. The Vikings took the silver plate and sailed away.

The legend of the Battle of Girton Priory is a reminder of the turbulent times that the English people faced in the ninth century. The Vikings were a constant threat, and the Saxons were often forced to defend their homes and their property. The legend also shows the importance of monasteries in medieval England. Monasteries were not only places of worship, but they were also centers of learning and culture. The silver plate that was kept in Girton Priory was a valuable treasure, and its loss was a blow to the English people'.

The Battle of Tempsford at least appears to have happened, at least to the extent of appearing in Wikipedia for the year 917. Twenty miles to the west of Girton.

References

Reference 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_hawker.

Reference 2: https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/odonata/dragonflies-2/.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/08/last-knockings.html.