March at 8 p.m. Please come and put forward any ideas you have. Needed urgently are additional members of committee and someone to replace Mrs. Leonard who, after two years of excellent service, has had to resign owing to ill-health.

A.E.W.

A NATURALIST'S NOTEBOOK

The recent freeze-up with its associated falls of snow once again caught out many of our local authorities, thus resulting in blocked roads, abandoned cars and electricity power cuts. It appears to me that it takes very little snow to bring chaos to "homo sapiens", and that our wildlife is far better equipped to cope with the situation, especially if we are prepared to offer a little assistance. It was with these thoughts in mind that decided me to take a walk round the Parish (road transport being impossible!) and see for myself how our wild birds were facing up to the severe weather. It was very gratifying to see how many people had put food out for the Robins and Titmice and at some households I noticed that water was also provided, a commodity just as essential as food during these severe conditions. Along the hedgerows, Blackbirds and Song Thrushes were scratching in the undergrowth in an attempt to find insects or snails, and in the orchards Redwings, Fieldfares and Chaffinches were feeding on the remains of rotten apples. On the borders of the orchards I was very sorry to find that much of the existing hedgerows had been cleared. As a Naturalist and Stock Farmer, I am always a little distressed to see hedgerows being grubbed, as not only do they provide a lot of shelter during hard weather to our wildlife and our cattle, but many of our declining species, such as the Common Partridge, use them as a nesting site.

W.F.A.B.

VIEWPOINT

Being a mother is a responsibility which goes further than the basic provision of food, clothes and a roof. There are homes, too tidy, too affluent, where children are deprived. "Mummy doesn't like me to make a mess." Where conversation and experiences are not exchanged between parents and children.

All parents are the first teachers in their children's lives. Is Mummy always too busy? Does the school have to teach manners and mathematics? The pre-school experience of most children is lamentably lacking in the parent-child relationship. Nannies can sing nursery rhymes, but mothers seem to have forgotten.

Make your own marmalade by all means, but if there is an opportunity to widen your child's horizon (and your own), take it. Fill your house with other people's children, good books, and creative activities. The TV turns off as well as on.

It is a changing world. Families move away from their birthplace; to what ? ... People on their own little islands, cleaning their homes, and shutting the rest of the world right out.

Children are watching all this; it is easier to emulate than originate. Practical Christianity makes sense to young children; as they grow up, and meet more adults, is it any wonder that they become cynical?

D.B.