RIP Woodlands

The death was announced today of Leeds born guitarist PP Woodlands. He never recovered consciousness after being attacked by a raft of puffins last month whilst holidaying in Scotland. Woodlands is probably best remembered for his time with the band Sky Ground: their debut EP, recorded in 1973, featured Carlos Santana and is still one of the most collectable pieces of vinyl from the period. His subsequent solo career was blighted by poor management and even poorer health. His family issued a brief statement: ‘Although PP gave his life to music, music didn't give a lot back. But PP carried on and was a fighter to the end. However, the puffins were the final straw.'

Lundy

Lundy. You know the name from the Shipping Forecast (Lundy, Fastnet, variable 4 becoming cyclonic), but you probably haven't a clue where it is. If you had to stick a pin in a map you'd probably pitch it somewhere off the North East coast of Scotland heading for Norway.
It's a actually a tiny island in the Bristol Channel. With a population of only 28 you'd just about be able to man up two teams for a game of footie, with a ref, two linesmen, a fourth official and one man and a dog to watch. And don't forget the puffins: the literal translation of Lundy is Puffin Island. As commemorated by their coins and stamps. At the turn of the millennium the island's once enormous puffin population had been thinned down to just two breeding pairs. Now, thanks to island warden Phil Friend, who helped oversee the removal of the brown rat population from Lundy, that number has increased ten fold in ten years. Phil couldn't be happier - 'When I first came here you'd be lucky to see a single Puffin. Now they're everywhere.' His glamorous assistant, Jane, however, is not so sure - 'I don't know where they all come from. You turn your back for a minute and another one appears. It was never like this when we lived in Leeds.'