I Blame Alan Titchmarsh

They say there are fewer small birds around this winter.  I was going to write a post about it-  echoing the official line that it's all our fault for paving over our suburban gardens and planting leylandii- which discourages insects, which discourages birds- only there were no fewer than seven sparrows on our feeder yesterday- which is as many as I've ever seen- so I'm not altogether sure it's true.

Mind you, there's still the aesthetic argument.  Patios are hideous and leylandii boring-  so dig 'em up,  people, please!

Ailz's Childhood

All she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth

 

With her grand-dad Rogers
 

Marching in a Whit Walk. (She's the one in the background in the little white hat)

My Kids- Just Generally Messing About

Two 18th century rakes- at the end of a hard night's debauch



She bats just like a girl



Eat your heart out, Ronaldo



Building sandcastles is a hallowed tradition in our family. My father used to take a garden spade to the beach.

Posting these is pure self-indulgence....

OK. I'm Being Entirely Shameless Now

Animal Lover, Preacherman, Metrosexual

This was Churchill- an elderly cat we got from a rescue home. We called him that because his bow-legged stance made him look like a bulldog. He'd wander off - and neighbours would bring him back to us wrapped in a blanket, saying "I'm afraid your cat's been in an accident"-  and we'd say, "No, he always walks like that."



This was snapped at a Wiccan handfasting- one of our notable screw-ups. I believe the bride fell out of love with the groom during the actual course of the ceremony.



Taken in my mother's back garden. And, no, I'm not camping it up. That's an entirely typical pose.