It was at the start of March, so perhaps they were looking for a new burrow. O iridescent fowl, we salute thee.

Around Christmastide 2009, Islanders were greatly a-feared and a-troubled by a constant knocking, as it were, or banging, that sounded itself, deep and low, as though t’were coming from beneath the very island itself.  It was first heard by a wife of the parishe, whose senses were sharpened, being as she was at the time heavy with child. She told of it to her husbande, and he put his ear to the ground, and did hear it, and told the local blogger. Out of doors, they heard it not; yet in-a-doors, it was loud and penetrating.

And indeed it was the kind of sound that you don’t really notice unless someone mentions it, but once someone’s mentioned it, it’s ruddy irritating. So thanks for that Jon.

It’s not loud, but regular enough to be annoying enough to make you put Radio 5 on so you can’t hear it, which means it’s quite annoying. Comes every six seconds, only during working hours. Louder in houses on Bridge Street than houses on West Street.

Here’s my current theory:  a mini-caterpillar with a piledriver attachment being prepared for use this morning at the Trajan House site, just across the river from East Street. A mince pie to anyone who can provide video evidence of it being the cause of the Oseney Knocke.

Susanna Pressel   Labour     1583
Alan Armitage     Liberal Democrat     1478
Sushila Dhall     Green Party     1350
Ros Weatherall     Liberal Democrat     1342
Sue Ledwith     Labour     1118
Paul Sargent     Conservative     937
Bill Wilson     Conservative     931
Merlin Lyons     Green Party     840

He must have forgotten where he had put his bike, and whether he had locked it, because he was pulling them all around and lifting them out for a better look, and trying all the locks as he went. And he’s not the only one – you quite often see forgetful cyclists walking through the rows of bikes at Oxford station.

On a completely unrelated note, I know First Great Western say they take no responsibility for bikes left in their shelter… but wouldn’t they think it was a bit of a shame if (hypothetically) thieves could operate there all day long with impunity?

Hi-res versions available if anyone’s interested.

From the Oxford Mail: “Lord Mayor Faces Tree Row Rap”

It doesn’t say:

Residents of tranquil Osney Island awoke yesterday to find a landmark under threat, when an official with a clipboard was seen walking around the local councillor and prodding her with a spike. On being questioned, he revealed that there had been concerns over public liability issues surrounding the councillor for some time. Although a measure of popularity had grown up for her over the years, the councillor had reached a stage in her development when her stability was open to question. This year, she had taken on a distinctive, rich, mayoral foliage usually only seen once in the species’ lifecycle. The extra weight involved meant that it might only take a storm about local democracy to blow the councillor in a direction that could be catastrophic. If that happened, there was no way for the council to know which way she would go, and she could come down on the wrong side. Liability would then become a serious issue for the council, in that it would be liable to look foolish. It is almost unheard-of for a councillor to be felled in its full mayoral foliage, but an expert hired by the council has confirmed that the specimen may be ideologically unsound and leaning dangerously towards the views of electors. Osney residents last night joined hands around the councillor and sang songs, to piano accompaniment. “They can sing all they like,” a council spokesman said. “We’ll just spread a few false rumours about timing and then turn up and chop her down and chip her when nobody’s looking.”