15 October 2025

This England: Black swan event

This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s “Richard II”, refers to the whole of Britain – has run in the New Statesman since 1934

By New Statesman

Illustration by Marta Signori

A black swan has been removed from a historic town after it spent nine months “terrorising” other birds and tourists. The bird was captured by swan warden Cyril Bennis in Stratford-upon-Avon, and will be rehomed in Devon. Bennis said the capture was “what has to be done” in the light of the bird’s behaviour, which included disrupting other nesting swans. A town resident added: “He’s terrorised everyone else but we love him so it will be sad to see him go – but it’s probably better for the river that he’s gone.”
Stratford-upon-Avon Herald (Terry Hanstock)

On the ones and pews

The dance band Faithless sang that “God is a DJ”. One church has taken that literally after opening its doors to partygoers. Revellers at All Saints in Leamington Spa swapped incense sticks for glow sticks to host a drum ’n’ bass night headlined by DJ Hype and IC3. It’s unclear whether the dress code was cassocks and clerical collars or boiler suits and marigold gloves.
Metro (Daragh Brady)

Pumpkins of Darkness

An Ozzy Osbourne-inspired pumpkin mosaic has been created using 10,000 pumpkins. The annual artwork marks the start of Sunnyfields Farm’s immersive Pumpkin Time event in Hampshire. Thomas Nelson, the farm’s director, said it took 16 people and four and a half hours to create, and that they “are well drilled now”. He said creating the image of the Prince of Darkness would be “risky”, but that it had turned out better than he thought.
BBC Wiltshire (Adam Robertson)

[Further reading: Britain’s digital delinquents]