By: Blonde One

At moments of extreme busyness (4th weekend out in a row) or difficulty (dealing with kids stroppy parents) the Two Blondes often discuss which new hobby we should take up that will be less stressful than Ten Tors or DofE training. We have considered painting, photography and cross stitch. But the outright winner is knitting. It has become a standing joke amongst the people we work with that this should be our next hobby. The kids that we take out have even begun to joke about it. The benefits of this hobby are obvious: it doesn’t matter what the weather is like, there are no kids and therefore no parents, expenses are minimal, it can be social or solitary, it can be done when there is a two minute window of free time, our families would always know where we are and lastly, we would have some lovely Christmas jumpers! You see, it sounds amazing doesn’t it?

However, after watching the news a few days ago I realised that there is an even better alternative hobby: ladybird spotting! Apparently the most common British ladybird (with 7 spots) is in decline due to a cooler climate and some foreign invaders. I thought it would make a very acceptable replacement hobby to be an official spotter. I wonder what the collective noun is for a group of ladybird spotters?! Perhaps a ‘polka’? This hobby has all the benefits of being a young persons outdoor education leader but without the stressy bits. Perfect!