The Lockdown posts: The birds in our garden

MrsRobster has been hard at work in our garden during the lockdown (that is when she hasn't been working stupid shifts and having to sleep during the day). She's always wanted to attract more birds, and finally, this year, her efforts have paid off. Thanks to the beautiful plants and trees she's bought and planted, and the birdbaths she made, we've been inundated with finches, wrens and tits over the past couple of weeks.

She loves to sit and watch them, camera in hand, waiting to capture the moments when they take a dip or have a drink. It's not as if we don't have wildlife round our way - we're just a stone's throw from a stretch of the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal, numerous parts of which we've walked over recent years. We often see ducks, swans, moorhens, coots and even the occasional heron on the canal. We've had toads and hedgehogs in the garden before (and, unfortunately, some rather large rats), but the birds have often bypassed our place in favour of our neighbours. But not this year - Ha!

Earlier in the week, I had a close encounter at a garden centre we visited. There I was, happily pushing our trolley towards the checkout, when a rather stern mummy chaffinch landed on the floor in front of me. She told me, at great length and in no uncertain terms, to stay well clear of her babies or else (not that I actually speak chaffinch or anything, but that was the gist of it). She then flew up to the nesting box on the wall to my immediate right where her chicks were waiting for dinner. MrsRobster found it most amusing, but as I told her, I'm used to being scolded by a stroppy female, so...

Of course, this song springs to mind immediately. It's my favourite track from Pulp's best - and final - album 'We Love Life'. I told MrsRobster I had this song in my head thanks to her birdwatching. "Isn't it about sex?" she asked. "Of course it is," I replied. "That's pretty much all Jarvis Cocker ever wrote about!" An absolutely wonderful track.



It may not have escaped your notice that Mr Cocker has a new musical project called Jarv Is... and an album is imminent. Should be a good one if the singles are anything to go on. Here's an extended remix of the recent single House Music All night Long.