COWS, CATS, & CANARIES

Blurb for next Friday's one off talk at JW3 and on zoom when the class will be visited for a few minutes by a VIP visitor to JW3.

This is a break from my usual Political History and a return to my interest in off beat social history with a touch of folklore.

The title is not what many of you would think of as 'History'; nevertheless the story of our relationship with domesticated farm animals and with companionable pets has much to teach us about ourselves, both in the past and today. It throws light on agricultural practices, on land management, on our superstitious beliefs, on the social history of class, on choices of entertainments, and on how attitudes have changed towards animals and birds over the centuries. Today, as in The Enlightenment, we are re-evaluating our relationships with the natural world in general.

The talk will have a great many intriguing facts and stories. Inevitably, being me, Winston Churchill and his love of animals and birds of all sorts is likely to make a cameo appearance.