NORTHUMBERLAND, England – I am having trouble containing a chuckle. And that's getting on my cameraman Woj's nerves.

We're reporting on England's squirrel wars, and Woj is aiming his camera lens through the wood panel and fishnet camouflage opening of our "hide" –­ that's sort of a hut meant to conceal humans in the wild – ­and he needs quiet.

Hides are used by hunters shooting wild birds in fields, or documentary film crews filming wildebeest and lions in the African bush. And here we are, in the wilds of northern England, speaking in hushed tones and hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive British red squirrel. We've traveled three hours by train from London for pictures of an eight-inch, 10-ounce rodent.

Talk about National Geographic light.

The heavy issue in this story is whether man has a right to kill off one species in order to save another. In this case, do the air-rifle carrying members of the Red Squirrel Protection Partnership have the right to shoot each and every American gray squirrel they trap on English soil, in order to keep Britain's native red squirrel from possible extinction?

Partnership leader Lord Rupert Redesdale says yes, because the American grays ­imported to England in the 1880s ­carry a virus that's lethal to the British reds. The American squirrels are twice the size of the reds and out-compete them for food and territory.

The Red Squirrel Protection Partnership will soon put a bullet into the head of its 20,000 American gray here. The squirrel hunters say more important than numbers killed, is their contention that British reds that were on the run are slowly returning to their patch of northern England.

The great American gray squirrel cull isn't pretty. After the being shot in the back of the head, the squirrels squirm. They jump and twitch. They make an awful whirring noise. The squirrel hunters we spoke to say that is just reflexes.

Animal rights groups, like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, aren't amused. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says the hunt is unethical and causes unnecessary suffering.

But at least the squirrel carcasses aren't going to waste. Redesdale, who happens to be a Baron and a Lord in British government, says he's got a growing network of butchers who "can¹t get enough" of American gray squirrel meat.

The irony of a British blue blood leading the fight against American grays aside, apparently squirrel canapes are in high demand among the aristocratic cocktail party set.

Does squirrel meat taste like chicken?

Yes. And it is quite delicious.

Is an American gray squirrel cull, to save the British red, right?

Let us know.

LONDON, England –The Supremes singer Mary Wilson opened her storage chest to unveil some dresses the group wore during their amazing career. Cute, you might think.

CNN correspondent Alphonso Van Marsh interviews Mary Wilson, member of girl group The Supremes, in London.

But as I learned – when we got an exclusive first peek at the exhibition at London's Victoria & Albert Museum last weekend – there's more to this story than meets the eye.

"The Supremes from the Mary Wilson Collection" exhibit is more than just dresses on display. What's interesting about this museum exhibition is the context in which these performance costumes are placed.

The Supremes remain one of the most successful vocal groups in American history. And they were at their most popular at the height of the American civil rights period: a time when African Americans were struggling to be treated as equal in the country that enslaved their ancestors.

Between the dresses, there are equally visual stunning details about the crossover appeal of The Supremes. About the respect these young women commanded. About the aspirations they represented. About why these young women were a tremendous source of pride for many African Americans then, and today.

So it was with a bit of awe that I met and interviewed one of the original Supremes. I'll even admit to taking a picture with Wilson - quite a tacky move for a journalist. But I didn't care.

LONDON, England – For our profile story on a 176-pound British "size 16" teenager slated to compete in the Miss England pageant, we needed to see how a real-life beauty pageant works... so we checked out the Miss Bath competition at the Bath Race Course and Conference center in Bath, south-west England.

Samantha Del Greco, Miss Bath '07 and judge (center), award the tiara to 2008 winner Katya Floyd-Sanchez.

Putting aside the irony that segments of the Miss Bath beauty pageant were held between horse races, my cameraman and I entered a world where perhaps, only the bravest of girls should dare compete.

The climate of nervousness is not necessarily induced by their fellow competitors - we witnessed no ganging up on contestants, as in the movie "Carrie", or catfights backstage. The harshest judges weren't the judges. The only thing to fear was the audience itself.

I loved the idea that there was a diversity of contestants on stage: different heights, hair colors (not all of them natural), ethnicities, body shapes and degrees to what they dared-to-bare. But what was disconcerting were some of the petty comments about the ladies we heard from those who came to watch the competition unfold.

It takes a lot of chutzpah for these teens and twentysomethings to get up in front of a crowd, strutting in heels, evening gowns, sports/swimwear and bizarre outfits for the "Eco-Fashion Round" - clothes inspired by the contestants' concern for the environment (plastic garbage bag dress, anyone?).

So it is not cool to overhear some of the spectators - who needed to hit the Stairmaster themselves - whisper the word 'heifer' as the heavier contestants worked the pageant catwalk.

Not classy.

Then again, perhaps one contestant should have expected to be mocked when the pageant host asked her: "If you could be a Disney character, what would you be? And why?"

The contestant answered - and remember, this is a beauty pageant: "Miss Piggy. Because she is an international superstar and a household name."

That contestant didn't win.

Watch my video report

LONDON, England – It has been days since the last model worked the catwalk at London Fashion Week, but we're still getting jitters over our extraordinary backstage access at the Julien Macdonald show – for many the culmination of this fashion season.

Alphonso Van Marsh, right, interviews
Julien Macdonald, center, and Egyptian jewelry designer Azza Fahmy.

I'm working a story about Azzy Fahmy, an Egyptian jewelry designer who very ingeniously teamed up with the famed fashion guru to get her work on London catwalks.

The collaboration, one part of Fahmy's strategy to build her design brand internationally. His clothes. Her accessories. In a phrase: Designer Bling Bling.

We met Fahmy at her design center in Cairo as she meticulously watched over the construction of each curve and clasp of her necklaces, bracelets and rings.

I met up with her again at London Fashion Week as she and Macdonald put the finishing touches on their designs.

The energy backstage was insane: Almost like that TV show "Project Runway" brought to life. Models must be matched to Polaroid pictures displaying hair, make-up and clothes.

A statuesque human coat hanger in a gold dress who easily had three inches on me - and I'm six feet tall - strikes an almost pharaonic pose... turns out she's just catching her balance on mammoth heels. Fahmy catches our eye as she gives a resounding "OK" sign after a scantily clad model slips into a beaded black outfit - and puts on a sparkling, hand-cut ring necklace Fahmy designed. Breathtaking.

In another room, across from the buffet table with nothing but diet cola, bottled water and vegetarian sandwiches, a hair stylist catches me looking aghast. He's pressing a hot comb through a model's hair – and the smoke is wafting upward.

"Its steam! Not smoke," he says with a wink of the eye. The smell tells me otherwise.

And through all the madness, we had a chance for an interview with Fahmy and Macdonald together, reunited backstage. It was a fun moment. And the show - well, if you missed it, check out our profile on Azza Fahmy on CNN's Marketplace Middle East, scheduled to air March 24.

LONDON, England – If the public following the inquest into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and her lover expected a showdown in Court 73 from Mohamed Al Fayed , they certainly got one.

The billionaire father of Dodi Al Fayed, who died in a car crash with Diana, was testifying in the inquest into the couple's death. And within minutes, the teary-eyed Egyptian called the August 1997 crash "hot murder."

"I will not rest until I die. If I lose everything to find the truth," Al Fayed told the court.

Al Fayed repeated his allegations that the royal ramily was responsible for the crash, that Diana was pregnant and that the couple was about to announced their engagement. Allegations a string of other witnesses have denied.

When an inquest lawyer challenged Al Fayed as to why he didn't tell everybody as soon as he knew about Diana and Dodi"s alleged engagment, Al Fayed tersely replied, "it was one hour before they were murdered. Am I going to announce it after they were dead?"

He also added his allegation that Prince Philip - the husband of the Queen - couldn't bear to have a Muslim be stepfather to the future king of England.

Al Fayed then let out a torrent of claims and exhortations: That members of the Royal family were racist and that he deserved a fair hearing in court because he had brought so much business into the UK.

Some of his curt answers actually drew laughter from members of the public watching the testimony via video in an adjourning room.

"Diana suffered for 20 years from this Dracula family," Al Fayed said, to chuckles inside and outside the court.

Some of the exchanges would be funny, were it not so clear that Al Fayed is still grieving for his son - and is clearly disturbed by suggestions his version of events are "hallucinations."

The inquest continues...