Game's On

My Christmas exhibition opened this morning with all the usual flurry of activity. The theme of the exhibition is game birds and my latest painting of a partridge covey seems to have gone down particularly well.

The focus on game birds got me thinking about how common it is to see pheasants sparring at this time of year, even though their breeding season doesn't begin until the spring.

Do look out for today's Yorkshire Post in which I concentrate on this subject in my monthly column.

The exhibition runs until November 28th and it is already shaping up to be a good one - if wildly busy. There are various events taking place throughout the fortnight.

Later today we have a walk to spot winter migrants with experienced birdwatcher Michael Flowers and tomorrow there is a walk to find red kites on the Yorkshire Wolds.

On Tuesday night my neighbour, the gardener Gilda Brader and the couture designer Jennie Palmer will be showing visitors how to make floral and fabric decorations for Christmas. This event has already sold out!