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The current estimate of the number of starlings roosting in the reed beds at Ham Wall is around 100,000, and having stood in the midst of them and heard the noise they make, I’m not going to quibble with that … Continued

I wanted to go out road-tripping in today’s nice night, but I’m off to Somerset tomorrow on a family errand, and I thought it was silly to drive long distances two days running. So instead R and I went to … Continued

The aim of this exercise is to stand on a step and place your chin on the riser below you, while stretching your arms straight back behind you – ideally without falling on your head. Note that this position is … Continued

R and I put up most of the Christmas decorations today – a job I don’t enjoy very much, especially now that the Offspring are grown and I can’t make a family performance out of it, but which I still … Continued

We don’t have a Steampunk convention in Stratford-upon-Avon, more’s the pity, but this fabulously dressed couple and two of their friends came to town today for the Victorian Christmas market, and I happened upon them outside the library, where a … Continued

My usual route up onto the top of the Cotswold scarp takes me past the Cotswold Farm Park, and then up a steep hill, on the far side of which lies the village of Guiting Power. A couple of weeks … Continued

That’s an expletive, by the way. Another day of what little light there was being horrible, and another day of my head sinking lower into my shoulders; I now closely resemble a snapping turtle. Tomorrow is supposed to be an … Continued

This is a pretty accurate representation of how dark the garden was at 2pm this afternoon: two stops below the 18% grey the camera thinks is normal. I’d been hoping to go out somewhere – anywhere! – but it rained … Continued

I’ve had this Echeveria ‘Black Prince’ for years,  but I’d completely forgotten that it’s capable of flowering – so it was a nice surprise when I realised the other day that it was putting out a couple of flower spikes. … Continued

I’ve been resisting Christmas. But today I bowed to the inevitable and put up the first two decorations, which are always the wreath on the front door, and an Advent light in the sitting room window. So I may as … Continued