Where are you living? Botswana?

I knew that living in an 11th floor flat in London I was unlikely to come across much by way of wildlife. A very occasional spider or fly and a few birds flying by the window (once, bizarrely, a cricket was blown through the window much to Sophie's delight). One day I did wake up to a very loud noise which turned out to be 2 hawks perched on the windowsill yelling at each other - having a 'domestic' I think!

I knew living in the countryside there would be many more battles with the wildlife than in London. When I moved in I noticed a huge amount of cobwebs, I thought they'd just not been cleaned very often then I discovered the truth. I park my car go inside and in the morning it's covered with cobwebs. I clean them off drive to the station, park my car, come back a few hours later and it's covered in cobwebs! It's a total running battle with the spiders.......

Then there's other 'flying things'. I was sitting one evening when there was a loud thud followed by a very angry buzzing noise. The largest flying insect I have ever seen charged towards the window. Luckily Sophie was somewhere else and didn't notice it otherwise I'd have had to fight her and the (what I now know to be ) hornet as she tried to play with it.

I managed to get the hornet who was by now very cross indeed into a jar and back outside the door. I posted a photo on facebook of the offending hornet and someone said "Good heavens where are you living? Botswana?" I had to agree - it was certainly much larger than any insect I'd ever come across in my sheltered London existence.

It appeared to have dropped down the vent behind my gas fire and I thought no more of it.....until.....it happened twice more over the next couple of weeks. On one occasion I did have a screaming cat in one hand and a very cross hornet under a jar in the other with both doing their best to get free!

I thought I'd better get it checked out just incase I had some sort of nest nearby. I called a local pest control guy who said he was busy but could drop round about 8pm. That was fine as the nights are still very light so he would be able to see what was going on.

He checked the loft and outside etc then decided to move the fire to check behind there. That's when disaster struck, after he moved the fire he said 'sorry but I can smell gas'. 

Long story short, the fire had sprung a leak so I had to call the emergency gas people. So first my new neighbours witnessed a guy head to toe in a white bee keepers outfit (hat/veil and all!) outside clambering all over the house then  that was followed by the flashing lights of a very chipper (and noisy) gas man! I was trying to be quiet and discreet to no avail. I have no idea what the neighbours must have thought I was doing, but I promise I'm normally a nice quiet person! 

The worst part is I now need a new fire (I'm reverting to electric as it's safer!) and we still don't know where the pesky hornets came from....sigh......