Family Biggs live in the centre of England, in the county of Staffordshire, in a semi-rural setting. Below is a view (West) from the upstairs of my house in Tamworth, looking out from the front over the river Tame. The name Tamworth is derived from Tame-Worthig (a settlement or enclosure by the river Tame). The tall structure, just visible on the centre of the horizon, is the ‘Apocolypse’ ride at Drayton Manor Park and Zoo. Our wedding reception was held in Drayton Manor’s Hamilton Suite in 1982. The site was once the home of the 19th century British prime minister Sir Robert Peel .
Our house is situated well above the river. The houses on the opposite side are not so lucky and are built on a flood plain. Unfortunately the houses that can be seen in the picture were flooded during the heavy rain we experienced during the early part of the 2007 summer. The flood defences have since been improved. The Tame is popular with fishermen. Wildlife includes Herons, Swans, Ducks, Pheasant and Foxes. We’ve been feeding the local Foxes at night whilst walking our dog since shortly after we moved here 7 years ago. Sometimes they are actually waiting for us to turn up, peering around the bushes. The lampost, right of centre in the picture, indicates the footpath/cycle path running in front of the house.
To the right, but not in the picture, lies the current Watling Street – the site of the most important Roman road which runs East to West across Great Britain. The Roman Governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus and a force of 10,000 men defeated Boudicca and her army of 80,000 Iceni in this area in 60 AD.
I sometimes wonder what the Romans would think about our current UK climate – I expect they would be unimpressed by the current hysteria, alarmism and hypocrisiy, which I shall continue to highlight during 2008.
Snow is forecast here within the next couple of days – if it materialises, I will post a snowy version of the photograph below.
Happy New Year!
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.