Four pretty little Victorian cottages stood on this site just a few weeks ago, all with long narrow gardens. As has become traditional now in our part of the world, the developers buy them up, knock them down, then build a whole estate of houses on the land.

It sickens me that our lovely old houses are being ripped down to make little boxes just because land was more abundent a hundred years ago so we've got the luxury of big gardens. The land round here supports a fascinating array of wildlife which will go once these houses are built. In my back garden I have adders, grass snakes, slow worms and a vast number of birds. In fact, while writing this, a sparrowhawk has driven a collared dove against my window, stunned it and eaten it. You won't see that happening in the pocket handkerchief gardens of the new houses I am sure.

Sorry, rant over....I'll learn to accept the rush of progress one of these days.