Winter Weather

Well it has been the coldest start to winter for 30 years according to the Met Office and after days of gloom the sun has finally come out. The heavy rain last Saturday has affected our work as we have had to cancel a joint operation with the Broads Authority to clear Floating Pennywort from the upper stretches of the River Waveney. This invasive weed from North America has spread downstream from Diss and the worry is that if it gets into the Broads it will clog up the system with a dense carpet of floating vegetation - a disaster for our local wildlife and holiday boats. We have postponed this work until early spring because of high water levels.

Here is a Christmas quiz to keep the brain cells active over the festive season. It is taken from our recent Wildlife Quiz at Thornham. The answers are all birds that nest in this country.

1. Architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
2. Presenter of first TV series of ‘Coast’.
3. Film character played by Jodie Foster in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’.
4. Booker Prize winning author whose works include ‘Last Orders’ and ‘Waterland’.
5. Rolls Royce engine that powered the Spitfire.
6. Was worn by a judge when announcing the death sentence.
7. British steam locomotive with world speed record.
8. Author Ian Fleming’s house in Jamaica.
9. ITV children’s programme that was a rival to ‘Blue Peter’ in the 1970s.
10. 1980s band from Hull – members went on to form ‘The Beautiful South’ and perform as Fatboy Slim.

Answers next time.

The cold weather has produced some beautiful ice crystals:

A merry Christmas to you all