Ok - lame title, but “Beware the Ides of March” is such a wonderful line it would be a shame not to use it - especially so when on the Ides of March several issues relating to the Black Sea and its ecosystem allow for a little corny wordplay in the title of this entry.
So what issues am I referring to that relate specifically to?
Well firstly a large oil spill off the coast of Odessa near the Danube Delta.
Secondly, and much more importantly, a UN report on the dramatic drop in shark numbers in the Black Sea.
That’s it for today. Having smugly managed to engineer a mention of the Ides of March into my entry written on the Ides of March - albeit published the day after - I am going to enjoy a warm and sunny afternoon in Odessa.
As a post script for all you WWII boffins - and staying with the Ides of March theme - on 15th March 1939, Carpatho-Ukraine declared its independence from Czechoslovakia, but was annexed by Hungary the next day. “Beware the Ides of March” was seemingly ignored.