Geese vs parks

 
Canadian geese are probably the least liked of all birds to be found in Britain. They can be aggressive and hard to disperse.  But, worse than this it seems, park managers despair when they see the birds settle on their patches. This is because, over time, the birds simply nibble away at the luscious swards - and create bare grounds of uncovered mud. There are even guides online on how to cull them (humanel, of course).

The geese like to settle by water.  Here they have destroyed the greens on the riverside walk in Burton.

Singles at Hoar Cross

 

Despite being a relatively young church (built 1876), Holy Angels at Hoar Cross is a stunner, and gets hugely high ratings from both visitors and 'church-crawlers'.  

However, this photo is of the church's single pews (I've neer seen single pews before).  They could almost have been custom made for worship in a time of Covid social distancing...!

Wet lands

 
It has been wet wet wet underfoot.  The snow-melt didn't help either.
I thought if I walked on the top of the ridge at Kingsley it would be drier, but the fields were sodden even up there.
On a track, just twenty yards down from the top, I saw this pipe, which is a farmer's way of trying to drain the excess water from the land.  Some hope... it just kept on gushing, so much so that it was creating a completely new runnel beneath it.

Wall/bridge/lock/road/canal/path

This road-bridge on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal (1770) is Grade-2 listed, believe it or not - though it was built by Brindley, so does deserve its bit of fame. And it is strangely elegant.
The odd arrangement you see here the because of the challenge set to Brindley to build a lock and bridge in one structure - he always loved a challenge!
If you want to go look for it, it's no 49 on the canal and is to be found in Awbridge (Trysull).
 

Mild & snowy

 
Another bout of the white stuff today. 
You'd think the air would feel cold, or chilly at least.  But this is one of those snowy times when it's actually quite mild out.

Lockdown ways

 

Lockdown again, so back to what we did in the last one - go for walks.

New identities

Brexit Day - the UK leaves the European Union today. 
We'll all be watching to see what the effects, on England+Scotland+Ireland+Wales, Britain, Europe, and the world, will be.

One thing that is predicted is that people will think harder about where their roots really are - and what their allegiances really are. 
This household clearly identifies not just with the United Kingdom (flag on the right) but with Staffordshire (flag on the left) too. Some EU flags are still around - an act of sorrow at leaving perhaps, or do those people feel European at heart? -, but a lot of flags of the St George Cross (England) too.
Curiously, a few 'world flags' (ie the United Nations flag) are also appearing on houses, which I have never seen before.

Surprise snow

 
No one really expected snow as the weather had been mild really for December - but then snow comes at unexpected moments.
There was enough snow to make it, in some parts of the country, an official White Christmas, but Staffordshire's substantial falls were a couple of days later. This is the scene on the hills & moors to the north of Leek, where it always comes thickest.

Wet wet wet marshes

 

Rain, rain, rain. Although the skies have been variable - sometimes blue, sometimes grey - and the temperature relatively mild for winter, it has been WET.

These are the Doxey Marshes, near Stafford.

Pub gone to the dogs

 

The Talbot in Cheadle has now closed, possibly forever.  It's a shame; it was just an old boozer, but a great old boozer.

'Talbot' was the family name of the Earls of Shrewsbury, who owned lots of land in and around Cheadle, even into the last century. 
The dogs that you can see in the shield of arms are of course hunting Talbots, and it could be that this breed of dog is so-named because the family adopted them for their arms some 600 years ago.