This is not a tree

It looks like a tree. It has green leaves and a wooden trunk and it stands tall. We've watched it grow over several years. It seems to thrive though it’s a bit of a puzzle where all that greenery gets its nutrients. And it’s definitely not a tree, though that isn't obvious from the photo.

It’s an abandoned telegraph pole covered in ivy.

Secret weather report from the north east

Sunday 2nd February 2014 and a sunny walk on the beach. I need to date it or I might not believe it was really that sunny, but it was. Not exactly shirt sleeves weather and no one was in swimming but it was a lovely sunny, dry day.

Listening to the national news is like tuning in to the wrong country – all those storms and floods. Mind you, when we were under water after last year’s storm surge, the national news was much the same in terms of coming from a far off land – a passing mention of sea levels worse than the great flood of 1953 and a list of places south of Watford that escaped the storm.

Anyway, the latest secret weather report from the north east is sunshine.