THROWBACK THURSDAY: My Life With Dan

A Sparrow, But NOT Dan!

The discovery of a dead bird on our decking earlier this month (I suspect it had flown into our glass doors at the back of the house) took my mind back to a more positive avian interaction five years earlier.

In June 2021, while Rachel was on a works' Zoom call, she alerted me to the fact that Alice was barking in the back garden and she thought our pup might have caught a mouse (which, we both agreed was totally out of character for her).

However, when I went to investigate, I discovered she had found an injured sparrow and was gently carrying it in her mouth to one of the flower beds where it could get some shade.

Having secured a small cardboard box, and filled it with packing paper and some of Barney's Timothy Hay, I gently scooped up the bird - which had a nasty wound on its hind quarters - and put it in the makeshift nest.

I tried to drip-feed it some water from a plastic syringe, but, despite still being conscious and breathing, it wouldn't take the liquid nourishment,

My next course of action was to phone the vets, who explained that this wasn't the sort of case they could help with, but referred me to a local wild animal rescue centre, Folly Wildlife Rescue, that I confess neither Rachel nor I even knew existed before this.

Calling the centre, we were given instructions to bring the bird in its box to their location, just outside of Tunbridge Wells.

When I picked up the box the bird, seeking the security of darkness, squirmed its way down to the bottom of the nest I had made for it.

Then we loaded up the car, securing Alice in the back seat, Rachel driving, and me with the injured sparrow in his box on my lap.

While stuck in traffic in Southborough - behind a car with a personalised number plate - I decided that the bird's name was Dan (because of the car in front of us and the classic Alan Partridge scene).

The centre was easier to find than the directions I'd been given had suggested (we relied instead on Rachel's sat nav on her phone), and Dan - in his box - was dropped off, after I filled in some paperwork.

I emailed the centre once we got home for an update, which arrived a few hours later:

"The bird was assessed on arrival and found to have bruising on its body and punctured air sacks. It was given immediate critical care and medication and is in the care of our vet and staff."

Over the bank holiday weekend I emailed again, seeking a further update on Dan's condition (having been warned by friends not to get too attached, should the worst happen) and this lunchtime, I heard back:

"The sparrow is continuing to progress well at this time."

This made me enormously happy and I aimed to drop them a, probably final, email later in the week, just to check up how he is doing (I realise their email is run by volunteers who have more important things to do than answer needy emails from rescuers).

Both Rachel and I have now donated to Folly Wildlife Rescue and it's a local charity I would definitely consider giving to again, as it offers an invaluable service to wild animals that I never knew was available.

SOME TIME LATER...

Fly, Dan, fly...

In an unexpected development, a few days later we received a phone call from Folly Wildlife Centre.

Initially, I feared the worst, but the woman explained that the sparrow had recovered and was itching to be set free. Would we like to come and collect him, to release him in our garden, she asked.

I was giddy with excitement and said we'd be there as soon as we could.

Luckily Rachel wasn't in a Zoom meeting and so once again, having made up another cardboard 'nest box' for Dan, we set off with Alice in tow.

When we rolled up at the rescue centre, we were met at reception, the box was taken away and Dan was placed carefully within.

Hailing his recovery as a "success story", they put a bit of tape over the top of the box to hold it shut, warning us to hold it tight as Dan was "a bit feisty".

The journey home was full of excitement, anticipation, and speculation as to how Dan would react when we could finally open the box in our garden, allowing him to fly free and (hopefully) rejoin his (imagined) family.

This is kind of where things didn't go quite as expected. I was looking forward to a dramatic John Woo moment or a shot resembling the end of Blade Runner, with Dan majestically taking to the air and soaring away.

Instead, as we all stood in the garden and I carefully opened the cardboard box, Dan flapped out... and crash landed on the decking!

At this point, Alice (being none the wiser) thought this was a game... and chased him.

Rachel was all geared up to video Dan's flight to freedom, as the woman at the centre had suggested when we picked him up.

Instead, she caught the farcical Benny Hill-style scene of me chasing (well, hobbling) after Alice who was chasing after Dan as he flapped around the decking.

He then proceeded to waddle under the sun loungers and hop down into the inviting darkness of the narrow gap between our decking and the fence.

We tried to look for him, but couldn't see him. Even Alice had a look a bit later on, but couldn't scent him, so we guess he recovered his composure and flew away.

Preparing for Dan's "spectacular" release!

THE DENOUEMENT...

When the the gardeners arrived for one of their last visits to finish the new planting (this was following our 'major redevelopment' of the garden) later that day, Jess volunteered to crawl under the decking and check to see if Dan was trapped down there.

It turns out there's a small bird-sized hole through to our neighbour's garden just where Dan dived down and we all came to the conclusion that he had "escaped" through there.

Remembering Barney The Bunny

As we approach the first anniversary of Barney of The Bunny hopping over the rainbow bridge, I've finally had the intestinal fortitude to invest in a nice personalised plaque to mark his grave.

Barely a day passes without me thinking about the characterful critter. While I shall never have another pet rabbit, I'm delighted that his little memorial rock garden has bedded in nicely in the corner of our garden where he used to bound and stretch in his run - near to where his enormous hutch stood.

My 20/20 Vision

Image by Melanie from Pixabay

When my good friend Pete turned 50, he began a quest to achieve 50 extraordinary things in that year. 

With my recent acceptance of the fact that it's 20 years since I suffered a life-changing aneurysm and stroke, I've therefore decided that I shall embark on a similar - but much more low-key and sedate - quest.

While Pete's list included hair-raising adventures like feeding tigers, mine is much more geared to my own limitations (and fears).

My personal goal is achieve 20 things by this time next year that I wouldn't normally have done or haven't done for a long time because I've grown scared over the years.

This is separate to my ongoing PROJECT 60 (which is all about achieving geeky goals before I turn 60), but I guess there's a chance that the two strands might overlap at some point down the trail.

I will aim to chronicle these special "events" here on the blog, and keep this post as a "living document", adding links to the new experiences as I achieve them.

UPDATE. Due to my six months of being unable to walk properly in late 2025 (caused by osteoarthritis in my lumbar facet joints), I'm giving myself an extra six months - at least - to clock up the 20 special experiences/life changes etc

MY 20/20 VISION BOARD

(1) Build a rockery (to commemorate Barney The Bunny)
(2) Throw a party (to mark the 20th anniversary of my life being saved by the NHS) 

(3) Go to a comic-con (the return of the Tonbridge Comic-Con and Toy Fair)

(4) Solo walk down the hill to the dog groomer's to pick up Alice, and back up the hill heading home, in warm, Spring weather. Unaided and exhausted, but did it on my own (May 30, 2025)

(5) Grow a beard and keep it.

(6) Watch Fantastic Four: First Steps in the cinema
(7) Return to Raystede Animal Sanctuary (I wasn't expecting to be in a wheelchair!)

(8) Finally got to see Superman (even if not at the cinema as originally planned. It exceeded all expectations!)

(9) Switch to healthy (no snacking) diet - due to my high blood sugar count - and stick to it.

(10) Begin my "tree safaris" - walks in interesting local spots where I can photograph trees and landscapes.

(11) Play in (and win) a participation game at Cavalier 2026.

(12) Attend the first Geek Mania event (an excellent, new kind of geeky event in Tonbridge).

(13) Complete nine months of weekly Biscuit Club (with 100% attendance record)

(14) Start using my mobile as an actual telephone (like a grown-up)

(15) Return to Hever Castle after long break for the returning dog show.
(16)

(17)

(18)

(19)

(20)

Commemorating Barney The Bunny

This weekend was largely about saying 'goodbye' to our beloved Barney The Bunny, who died on January 29.

He was buried under his run, but I wanted to celebrate his life with a small rockery (rock garden) over his grave.

The first thing Rachel and I did on Saturday was move his metal-framed run, which - after almost six years here - had become quite firmly wedged into the ground.

Then I dug out a 1m by 1m area, about four of five centimetres deep, which we filled with pebbles. A weed-proof membrane (generously supplied by Rachel's parents) was laid over that, then I carefully placed the big stones that would form the core of the rockery.

Rachel then filled in the holes around the main rocks with the plants we had chosen and compost.

Finally a layer of smaller rocks was spread around the area to cover the membrane and fill in any other gaps.

The final job was to place the commemorative reclining rabbit statue, which has sat in my gamesroom for weeks - as it was the first thing I brought for this memorial garden project.

I’m immensely proud of the job we did, as well the planning and shopping beforehand of the rocks, gravel, plants, and statue. 

The only thing left is to get an engraved plaque, and Rachel has her eyes on one on Etsy.

Then, on Easter Sunday, Rachel's parents came round to help us dismantle Barney's old hutch, as well as do some other gardening stuff for us.

Rachel was also planting up the new, large pots which would take the place of the hutch, I helped a bit with some clearing up and Alice mainly demanded treats.

We also put Barney's run on Facebook Marketplace and it sold within three minutes, the buyer coming to collect it about 45 minutes later.

Barney The Bunny (2012 - 2025)

Barney in 2012

MAY 7, 2012 - JANUARY 29, 2025

It's really sad and peculiar no longer having my usual morning routine of feeding Barney first thing, but on Wednesday I found our beloved bunny had died in his sleep.

We buried him later that day and are planning a small memorial, with flowers and a statue, to mark his grave site.

He was over 12-and-a-half years old; in human terms that's about 90.

Named after my favourite character in How I Met Your Mother, Barney came into our lives on July 7, 2012, when we picked him up from Pets At Home in Tunbridge Wells and brought him back to his own residence in the garden of our old home near Tonbridge station.

At the time, the general advice was to get a single rabbit, as - we were told - a pair of males would fight, but this thinking has since changed.

The small size of our garden meant there was no convenient way to attach a covered run to his hutch, which therefore necessitated me lifting him out of his hutch and manually placing him in the run every time we thought he'd want to stretch his legs. Usually, though, he would sit in the run and glare.

In those early years, he was no fan of being handled.

Barney's original hutch

A fit and sturdy rabbit - a blue Netherland Cross, half-dwarf - the only injury he ever suffered was a very early (even before his first birthday) hind claw snagging incident that our wonderful vets resolved promptly.

Otherwise, he was very hardy and healthy, with the only real sign of his advancing years being the gradual loss of his eye-sight, beginning in 2021, but even then that didn't seem to bother him as he knew he was safe within the confines of his hutch and run, and that he would never want for food and water.

Every Christmas, he would travel with us to Rachel's parents' house, where they had a holiday home set up for him - his own dedicated hutch - and, as a member of our family, would get his own Santa's sack of gifts (usually food-themed). 

Barney (and Alice) have personalised gift sacks from Father Christmas

Barney's holiday home in Rachel's parents' garden

A couple of years after we took in Barney, we adopted Alice and she loved him from their first meeting. Every chance she got, she'd want to play chase with him or stroke him with her paw and give him a good lick (puppy kisses) behind the ears.

Best of Friends: Alice with her 'brother from another mother'

When we moved house in 2019, Barney found himself living in a much larger hutch, with an attached run, and he really took to it.

He definitely chilled out a lot, and you could tell he felt comfortable knowing he was very secure in this new environment.

Barney's luxurious new home in our new garden

Enjoying the expanse of his new run

He lived through boiling hot summers and wet summers, hurricane-strength winds and snow storms, visiting dogs (much larger - and more excitable - than Alice) and unwelcome foxes, but nothing seemed to bother our Barney.

I also discovered that there are few sights more adorable than a rabbit stretching itself and yawning.

Rachel's best friend Aime also included Barney in our family gifts (above and below)

Celebrating the Year of The Rabbit in January 2023

As he grew older, his fur got a bit tuftier and lately I'd noticed, under this fur, he felt like he was getting thinner, even though he was eating well and was still quite fiesty.

His passing, although not totally unexpected given his age, has left a huge bunny-shaped hole in my broken heart. Both Rachel and I were really upset, and Alice was very confused as to what was going on - thinking of her giving him kisses because she thought he was asleep still brings a tear to my eye.

Barney was loved by all and will be missed terribly.

On his 12th birthday, last year