'The Robin Man'

Last night was my garden club's Christmas do. We have been going for a good few years now and meet monthly. We usually have a speaker except for the summer months when we might go garden visiting. We are a fairly small group - under 40 members at present. Like many gardening clubs the majority of members are female and fifty plus.

Our speaker David Tideswell was not a stranger to the club, as he has visited us before, and was back last night by popular demand. David, an ornithologist, can be heard regularly on BBC local radio and has also appeared on the television programme 'Springwatch', where he acquired the name of
'The Robin Man'. He is an informative speaker who has a great sense of humour. The subject of last night's talk was getting garden birds through the winter. We came away with many valuable hints and tips including a recipe for a yummy birdcake which can be served whole or in little pellets. David could not stress enough how important it is to regularly clean bird feeding stations and water supplies.

A tasty buffet followed and then a most pleasant evening was rounded off with our traditional present swap and raffle. The only fly in the ointment was that I won a raffle prize - a box of M&S Belgium chocolate biscuits - now how am I going to keep to
that diet ?