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As of February 2016, after 416 posts, and over six and a half years of blogging, I'm taking a break.
I've explained why here. There's plenty of past posts to read, though - hope you enjoy them !
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Why I just LOVE the new Beauly to Denny power line

Jake

This is a picture of the hills to the north of my village, The woods you can see are the woods I have collected most of my red deer bones from. Herds of red deer live there, as well as foxes, red squirrels, buzzards, red kites, roe deer, newts and a lot more.

But can you tell what the landscape REALLY needs, and what would make it look better ? If you can't work it out, then it's because you don't love the countryside as much as Scottish and Southern Electricity. Read on to find out how they are making this view more beautiful.

Here's what makes it look better. LOADS OF ELECTRICITY PYLONS. They've only added six that you can see here but overall there are going to be six hundred. The more the better, I say !


And who wouldn't want to see something as beautiful and majestic as a 213ft pylon ? (That's bigger than the stupid old Statue of Liberty which is nowhere near as nice, and is only 150ft). I'm glad they cut down whole loads of forest and dug up ancient moors now that we get to see these beauties:


And this is how big the new pylons (in red) are compared to the old ones (in yellow). SSE didn't to bury the line below ground or sink it in the North Sea because then you wouldn't get to see the natural beauty of the pylons.




This is my village at the bottom. I've lived in that village all my life, and all that time people in the village have been saying: "it's quite a nice village, but what it really needs is a load of 200ft electricity pylons to block out that horrible view of stupid mountains and useless old trees". Luckily someone from SSE heard them, and started to improve the view straight away, like this:



Because the whole route costs £600m, and there are 600 pylons very single one of those pylons cost on average of £1,000,000. That is MUCH better value than maybe employing 2,000 extra nurses for the next ten years. The best thing is that all the money goes to SSE who are well known for being an honest and truthful company who would never lie about anything.

Building 600 massive pylons through the middle of such a boring and ugly place as the Scottish countryside was such a good idea that no-one ever opposed it, and everyone thought it would be a fantastic improvement.

I mean, today was an inservice day at school so me and dad walked up to the top of the wood and had lunch there.


 I mean, the view's okay, but it would be better with more pylons in it.


See, isn't that better ?

I mean, who lives in a wood like this anyway ?


Apart from the red deer. And red kite (I saw one today). And foxes, of course (I found a dead one today). And the frogs. And the newts. And woodpeckers. And chaffinches. And bullfinches. And sparrowhawks. And rabbits.  And hares. And grouse. And jays. I like jays. But apart from red deer, red kites, foxes, frogs, newts, woodpeckers, chaffinches, bullfinches, sparrowhawks, rabbits, hares, grouse and jays, what lives there ? Oh kestrels too. And roe deer. And treecreepers. And cuckoos. Some buzzards. Woodcocks as well. But apart from those, hardly anything lives there. Oh, and the owls. Anyway, you get my point.

This used to be one of my favourite woods, which had a load of boring trees and animals and birds and wildlife in. That's so old fashioned and boring. The future is electricity ! Away with old and in with the new ! My only regret is they left the rest of the wood there. Imagine how boring and dull this landscape would have been if they'd just buried the cables underground !



I can't wait until they are all finished. It is also good that we have destroyed the view and countryside from my village for generations to come, and that my grandchildren will know what a great job your generation did of looking after the countryside.


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13 comments :

Jack N said...

I totally agree. Who wants stupid rare animals, out of date ancient forests or those beautiful boring mountains. Everyone loves huge ugly 213ft metal pylons sticking out like nails from the countryside!

Arlene Harris said...

Well said, Jake! They lay gas pipe lines beneath the surface across the countryside so why not have electricity underground?

Alice Mae Lewis said...

Human arrogance and greed are astoundingly destructive things, aren't they?
Does your village have any organizations/clubs that are interested in reforestation? Even a small piece of land can be planted over time as a woodland and animal habitat. Every little bit helps. and perhaps others will want to do the same. Start small, give Mother Nature a helping hand and you might be surprised at what it grows into.
So happy that I found your blog. You're very lucky to have parents that encourage your interests. Mine certainly didn't! hahaha Now I let my grandchildren play with the bones, skulls, etc. that I have around the house. My three year old thinks that the cow pelvis is a pretty cool piece of super-hero armor. chuckle
Keep up the fine work and good luck in all your endeavors!

Jake said...

The land around where I live is owned by two big landowners, and a lot of it is used for shooting with a few pine forests. Thanks for the nice things you said !

Keith said...

I just want to wish you all the very best of luck with your book publication Jake. I have a minor interest in bones myself, but do not collect them unless I have a use for them.
Sincere regards, Keith.
An ex West Sussex lad.
http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com.au

Sarah R said...

So are you trying to drown the developers in sarcasm? It just might work.
I agree with you, of course, I'm just highly amused by how this is written. I can practically see the sarcasm oozing off my computer screen.
And no, that isn't sarcasm itself, this is quite funny. The writing, not the subject matter. Stupid developers.

Jake said...

It was dad's idea to write it the opposite way. I wasn't sure if it would work but I think it does.

Jake said...

Thanks !

SandyS said...

Jake,
I know that area very well, it breaks my heart everytime I go back to the land of my youth. It was bad enough when Braes of Doune was built (just visible from where I grew up) now this terrible developemnt to support useless wind turbines is a crime.



When they build the wind turbines to go on top the hill in first pictures the seagulls will go down like flies.

Sylvía Oddný said...

*bangs head on desk because of stupid developers*
That said, this was a wonderful practice in sarcasm.

Jake said...

Thanks !

Jake said...

I don't mind the wind turbines but I wish they'd put the power lines underground.

pylonp said...

I wont apologise, Do you not think if it was easier or cheaper in any way shape or form to get electricity from point A to point B it would be done ? Underground services cost way more money and create alot more damage to the environment, Say in ten years time there is an issue with the power cable? would you be happy about the land just recovering to be ripped up again ? I dont think so. This line is only to replace an existing line which you have showed pictures of, the reason for the height is a higher voltage, due to demand from the public etc, also to keep everyone safe. The existing line is also 60 years + old, Would you rather wait until they have failed ? fallen over ? totally decayed? causing massive disruption ? before replacing them? In 5 years time they will have weathered and wont look so harsh. Also i dont work for SSE. I am a young man of 24, i love nature and being outdoors, yes they're pretty ugly ! but we need them FACT. I found this page because I am proud of the work we have done.




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