Close Encounters Of The Bird Kind

Above: Blasé the sang froid robin.

In between work and house-move unpacking chaos, Dr. F and I have been painting the vast fence that runs around our back garden. Since crowds of gullible Mississippi urchins are in short supply in Nottinghamshire this year, we've been stuck doing the job ourselves, zipping out to do another panel or two in between cloudbursts.

Left: death-wish magpie fledgling stares down Allen Ginsberg the cat back in 2001.

On thing that has livened up proceedings has been the appearance of a particularly tatty and cocky robin, now nicknamed "Blasé," who alternates chirruping at us from a nearby tree with hopping down practically within reach to peck stuff off the lawn. That's when he's not buzzing us - passing so close you can feel the draught from his wings. It's the most startling birdy encounter I've had since Sheffield in 2001, when a fledgling magpie hopped up the front steps and sniffed the cat.

Lucky The Half-Face Cat from 2006

And on the subject of cats, I was delighted to see Lucky The Half-Faced Cat out and about for the first time this year. He's looking very old and a bit tatty, but he's still going!