A Romany day to remember at WWT Martin Mere
The Romany Society visited WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre on Saturday 29 October to celebrate the life of George Bramwell Evans, who was the original broadcasting naturalist for the BBC known as ‘Romany of the BBC’.
The society had a fantastic day out: they had a go on the canoes, went on a reedbed walk, had an entertaining talk in the Roundhouse Village, watched over 700 Whooper Swans feeds and were treated by a show by Romany’s grandson, Roly Bain.
Roly Bain, named Holy Fool, is an award winning clown who undertakes performances with a Christian basis, story or punchline. The group were entertained by his ‘slackroping’ performance before a cheque was presented to Martin Mere as a donation for a bird feeding area at the Canoe Safari dedicated to Romany.
Romany was a keen naturalist, early conservationist and pioneering broadcaster who paved the way for Johnny Morris, David Attenborough, Bill Oddie, Chris Packham, and a whole host of wildlife presenters who are now part of our nightly viewing routine. With his ground breaking radio series, ‘Out with Romany,’ he commanded a weekly listening audience of 13 million, possibly unrivalled since.
The Romany Society is now in its sixteenth year, with members living all over the world. It exists to perpetuate the life, works and ideals of Romany. Terry Waite is the Society Patron, and Mrs Romany Watt, Romany’s daughter, is its President. Over the years, the Society has made many grants to wildlife-related projects and children’s organisations. www.romanysociety.org.uk.
WWT Martin Mere is open every day from 9.30am to 5pm and parking is free of charge. Situated off the A59, it is signposted from the M61, M58 and M6. The Centre is also accessible via the Southport to Manchester and the Liverpool to Preston line by train from Burscough Rail Stations. Visit the web site http://www.wwt.org.uk/martinmere to find out what’s on all year round at Martin Mere and the other eight centres.
