Plucking and smartening

Every day, three young swans at Barton Marina clamber out of the water and start to pluck the remains of their baby feathers. They go to the same spot, just outside the Red Carpet Cinema. They are the final cygnets of the year - and they are getting into good habits.

It was a miserable morning - just the right kind of day to go to the cinema.

May I recommend "The Imitation Game", the film about Alan Turing and his achievements. It is excellent. I can't stand "Sherlock" but I truly admire Benedict Cumberbatch. The film certainly deserves the praise it has received in its first weeks on release.

An incredible and tragic fate for a man who contributed so much to mathematics, his country and to the world.