[Ballbag]

The view from my window is of the Leeds canal, a quite pleasant view with the ducks and swans and the odd fisherman about, occasionally lovers canoodle on the bridge for a while.

For the past few weeks I've been seeing these three swans swimming in the canal, always together pottering about up and down, never drifting more than a few meters apart. Admiring their solidarity I've always found my three swan friends quite relaxing to watch, swan 1, swan 2 and swan 3 I have named them.

However these last few days things have changed. The group of three is now a pair of two, and swan 3 can be seen swimming on it's own half way down the canal. They've paired up for breeding, and the unlucky gooseberry will face a spring time alone, looking sad.

I was wondering if anyone else had seen similar scenes of swan rejection, and if you know of a similarly lonely swan, can you please send them up to Leeds to keep the company of swan 3.

[Yudster]

I'm sure Swan 3 will be able to find a Swan 4 to cuddly up to. Its early in the season yet Baggie.

[Ballbag]

It just saddens me, as I look now swan 1 and 2 have gone up stream for some peace, and swan 3 is trying to get pally with a bunch of ducks, but I think they're a bit scared of him because they keep swimming away.

I might go and give swan 3 a some of my sandwich and company at lunch time.

[Vivienne]

And I'm told my threads are pointless.

[Ballbag]

The welfare and wellbeing of my swans is not pointless.

[Vivienne]

Sorry Balls.........

[Quincy]

i like swans.

[Ballbag]

I gave swan 3 some chips just now, it seemed to perk him up a bit.

[foot-loose]

I got attacked by a swan once. I was trying to protect my wee sister (who was a lot wee'er at the time) so I put myself between her and the swan.

I was running along a sorta wooden walkway thing and didnt notice that a plank of wood was missing. So I end up with one leg in the water underneath, the other doing sod all on the walkway, a swan hissing at me and my sister finding the whole thing very funny and giggling away at her big brother!

[Yudster]

They can break your leg with their wing, you know. Or is it your arm?

[Ballbag]

Your arm, with their beak.

[Yudster]

Wow.

[Sidders]

It's illegal to kill a swan.

[Ballbag]

It is indeed, they all belong to the Queen, it's illegal to eat them too, if you find a dead one you're supposed to deliver it to the Queen.

[foot-loose]

was there not a guy late last year who was in court for eating a dead swan? (uncooked I believe!)

[Sidders]

Yeah, indeed: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... ge_id=1770

He was fasting and felt a little peckish, so he did what anyone else would do and went and found a nice tasty swan to eat.

[Ballbag]

Update on my swans, swans 1 and 2 have taken up residence under the foot bridge, and swan 3 is being forced into further despair as he's out on his own now in the rain.

Poor little man.

(Sidders are you really a Daily Mail reader by the way)

[Sidders]

Nah, I just googled 'man eats swan' and it was #1. Althought I do read The Sun, which is almost as bad.

[Sidders]

Here's the same story from the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/6174344.stm

[Ballbag]

Nah, I just googled 'man eats swan' and it was #1. Althought I do read The Sun, which is almost as bad.

Phew, although The Sun is nowhere near as bad as The Mail. For starters it in no way shape or from tries to be high-brow.

Anyway, back to the story, I like the image of the police finding him with feathers in his beard, it's like Sylvester when he finally gets Tweetie-Pie.

[Yudster]

Sylvester got Tweetie?!!!!!!!!

[Walter Sobchak]

Swans are great, but I nearly got arrested for throwing a teenager in a lake after he'd killed a cygnet by throwing rocks at it.
He got away with it because there wasn't enough evidence to convict him (police talk for can't be bothered), and even though his pathetic weasel of a father wanted me to go to prison for life, his mum made sure he dropped the charges.

And I would do it again!

If anyone ventures down to deepest darkest dorset, and they love swans, they should go to Abbotsbury.
Take a look here - http://abbotsburytourism.co.uk/swannery/home.htm

[foot-loose]

Sylvester never got Tweetie, Yud Suds! He came mighty close many times, but that crazy old woman was always on hand with her rolling pin tucked away somewhere close by!

Its like Coyote and Roadrunner. There was always a little glimmer of hope for the poor coyote, but week on week, he got blown up, run over by a train or had a rock land on him. That was before he fell off the top of the cliff.

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee splat!!!

[Yudster]

Kwyjibo should be feted as a hero.

[Walter Sobchak]

Kwyjibo should be feted as a hero.

Sci-Fi channel 10pm tonight

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