We're unable to see the wood for all the pesky bird-filled trees | David Mitchell

Two dispiriting examples of corporate cost-cutting show just how short-sighted we've all becomeBirds are probably screwed anyway. Their numbers are falling, their habitats being destroyed. I hope that comes as some comfort to any builders annoyed that it's illegal to cut down trees containing active nests: you can console yourselves with the thought that, in the long term, those flappy little shits have had it.So, as you resentfully eye up some apparently cosy blackbird that is delaying construction of luxury flats for months and months, causing costs to spiral and profits to dwindle, don't project too much smugness on to the poor thing. Don't think of it like it's Sir Philip Green straddling a branch in the nude, biting into a chicken leg Henry VIII-style and laughing. In reality, it's going through hell. And blackbirds don't eat chicken anyway. Though they are nude - but it somehow seems different because of the feathers. The Windmill theatre probably tried that one on the lord chamberlain. Continue reading...