I am still thinking that Spot the beast 41 was too difficult! To make up for this, I am presenting you with this (more dangerous) creature we found while walking in Carmelo, Uruguay.

?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?

It is a venomous snake known locally as “yara”, “yarará” o crucera (crossed pit viper)(Bothrops alternatus). It is found in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina and, although not naturally aggressive, it is an important cause of snakebite. The reason for this is its reliance on its comouflage for protection. It is then easy to either step on it or nearby causing a defensive reaction that can end in a bite.

The venom is haemolytic and can cause serious tissue damage although is not as deadly as it is generally believed.

In the coal mining districts of County Durham, England, in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, almost every colliery (coal mine) had a colliery band. Bands were sponsored by the local mining communities and were a source of great pride for the working men who played in the band and the community who attended their performances. These were brass bands with brass and percussion instruments. My father was about 15 years old when he joined the New Herrington Colliery Band in Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham in 1950.

My father, James, on the left with a friend and fellow band member.

Formed in the 1900s, the New Herrington Colliery Band became a military style band after the First World War.¹ Financial support for the colliery bands came from the coal miners themselves. In 1934, the New Herrington Colliery Band was supported by subscription and a levy of a penny per…

(1) Christopher Hussey, (2) Stephen Hussey, (3) (Abigaill Hussey) Marshall, (5) Major Elihu Marshall, (6) Elizabeth (Marshall) Guion, (7) Elijah Guion, (8) Elijah Guion II, (9) Alfred Beck Guion, (10) Alfred Duryee Guion, (11) Alfred Peabody Guion, (12) Judith Anne Guion

May 10, 1798, was a Thursday. In the town of New Rochelle, New York, people had gathered for a wedding. Probably, though we aren’t sure, they had gathered in the village’s little Episcopal church; both groom and bride had been raised by Church-of-England mothers, though on their father’s side the groom was Huguenot and the bride, Quaker.

Elijah Guion, 28 years old, 10th child of the late John Guion, farmer and good-sized land-owner of the near-by vicinity called Rye, was taking as his bride a 19-year-old girl, Elizabeth Marshall. She was the eldest living daughter of Maj. Elihu Marshall, a veteran officer of the revolution which had ended only…