The Cotswolds are composed of soft oolitic limestone which, a gazillion years ago during the Jurassic Period when what is now the UK was underwater, slurped up the dead bodies of living things. Consequently, fossils are quite literally everywhere underfoot, and ne'er a walk goes by without us stumbling over a T-Rex thigh bone or something equally impressive.

I exaggerate of course - as any fule kno, the Jurassic Period was a bazillion years ago and there's no T-Rex stuff here in rural Gloucestershire, but ammonites and other small-scale fossils abound. This chap was lucky enough to be hoicked out of the ground yesterday on our walk around the by-ways near Didbrook and Hailes Abbey, and now stands proudly outside the house. Don't know what he or she was, but whatever they were, they certainly had a fine set of ribs!

For scale, the distance between front and back is about the length of a bog-standard household match, so no T-Rex!