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The Trials and Tribulations of a Natural History Presenter

dilger

 

That was the title of our final speaker of 2024, the excellent Mike Dilger, who entranced a very large audience at Blakeney on December 11.

Mike gave us an anecdote packed reprise of how his passion for nature developed from train spotting through collecting wildlife stamps to bird
watching via a Botany degree and research in the in the cloud forests of Ecuador.

He was candid about how his TV career started accidentally before he joined Channel 5 and then the One Show as a presenter. Mike showed us some of his favourite film footage and photos.

The man is a force of nature, for sure. His impersonations of rare birds’ mating conversations were as convincing as those of his co-presenters on the TV. His expert knowledge of all kinds of wildlife, and his passion for wildlife, came across in every sentence of his highly energetic talk.

The event was enhanced by a plentiful supply of mince pies and delicious sausage rolls (the latter all cooked personally by
our Vice Chair Dee Freeman - thanks Dee!).

Altogether a super u3a start to the Christmas season.

David Riddle