By now the snow and ice have gone, and the weather is a turbulent mix of cold sunshine and showers, though we've been warned to expect another bout of wintery weather as an Atlantic cyclone moves northeast toward the cold air over Britain.

By now Christmas is over, and the battles won (you know what I mean). This year was quieter than some I've experienced, especially since the workmen downstairs have been polite enough to go home to their families for the festive season. I did note however they left the front door poorly hung, so it wasn't possible to close it properly. Groan. Well I fixed that with a screwdriver and much huffing and puffing. Santa's been and gone - don't want any other unwelcome visitors.

On the plus side though, the workmen have been very considerate and left bread for the birdies. Now you'd think they'd throw some breadcrumbs around so poor little songbirds can survive the winter and die of a heart attack from obesity in the spring like nature intended, but no, they simply threw big chunks of stale bread onto the roof. What sort of bird is going to carry that off? There's going to be pterodactyls with fifty foot wingspan landing outside my bathroom window before long.

Either that or they're feeling sorry for me.

More Feeding The Birds

I notice all the local gulls have vanished. What's the matter guys? Can't hack the bad weather? But of course the crowd of water fowl at the park around the corner are still there, mobbing kids and pensioners for their breadcrumbs.

I passed through their a few days ago and a pair of swans were strutting their stuff on the pavement. Normally I give swans a wide bert - The breeding couple at Lawns are much more aggressive - but these two squawked at me for not giving generously at this time of hardship. Sorry about that Mr Swan. I forgot to bring bread with me.

Train of the Week

I see China has unveiled the worlds fastest train, clocking in at some ridiculous speed. The Chinese have been showing off for ages about their technological and industrial progress. So is this train a reality, or more political propaganda? Do I care? I find it very hard to. Perhaps if China worried less about high speed trinkets they might export better fish and chip shops. Then I would care a lot more.