Save our sparrows!

Deep and crisp and even. Well, actually it was shallow, sludgy and patchy, but nonetheless it was snow, and we all got pretty excited about it. While parts of the country have been deluged, we had at least half an inch down here in south Devon – just enough to cover half a trembling blade of grass. I’ve always thought we’re rather ill-equipped to deal with extremes of weather here in the UK, and sure enough the first thing we knew about this light dusting was our power going out. A practical man would have immediately donned a tool belt and plunged into the fuse cupboard to restore light and warmth to his family. A less practical man would have loaded the entire clan – missus, baby and dog – into the car and driven to Alf Resco’s for breakfast. So that’s what I did.

Alf Resco’s is an institution here in Dartmouth. It’s been around for ever – the medieval stone masons who built the castle probably enjoyed the odd cappuccino in there. It has that fuggy ambience that only comes with time and impeccable taste, and what’s more you can get a breakfast so large you have to be winched out of the building once you’ve eaten it.

We rolled up at Alf’s, as it’s known, with our jim-jams still on beneath our coats, and tucked into our respective vast breakfasts. Reuben was brought some neatly sliced sausages and responded with a look of such adoration towards the proprietor Pete as he put it down in front of him that I worried we’d never actually be able to get him to leave. Alf Resco’s – as is its way – had provided a haven for us in the storm (well, in the half an inch of snow I’m calling a storm) and we left ready to take on the world, with Isla burping in the car seat and Reubs snoring in the back.

These are the fundamentals of life of course – shelter and food – and it’s not just us that have to get this right or face a sticky end. This freezing weather has come at a very bad time indeed

With 44 million British birds lost in a generation, says the star of TV’s Great Escapes, isn’t it time we all did our bit for them?

for our native birds, already under the cosh after an appalling summer. The statistics really are frightening.

Since I was born, in 1966, the bird population has dropped by 44 million. Even ubiquitous species such as the starling, the thrush and the sparrow – birds we associate with a quintessentially British landscape – are in dire straits. It’s not just our land-based species either. Kittiwakes have halved in number since 1986, and puffins had a terrible time last year due to flooded burrows and unseasonal storms.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. One of the greatest resources for our bird populations at times such as this is you. In its 2012 report, the RSPB described our gardens as ‘reservoirs of urban biodiversity’ – a lovely expression that sums up the importance of our hedges, bushes and flowerbeds. Perhaps a better word would be ‘oasis’ – it’s so important that we put food out, make an area of grass snow-free and provide a bit of ice-free water. These are nothing less than lifesavers for the birds that make your garden resound with song in the summer.

It’s always worth remembering that spring is not too far away. But recently we’ve felt like an island under siege, so it’s all about providing warmth and food and sitting out the bad times. As you do, spare a thought for our birds, scrabbling for survival in a merciless landscape where their only hope, after all is said and done, might be you.