The geese are on the wing

2:49pm Friday 12th September 2008

• WITH weather such as we have just had, it is difficult to tell when summer has ended and autumn has begun, because with nothing but rain they blend together miserably. Luckily in Preston and Sutton Poyntz we always know when the seasons are turning by the flocks of geese that fly over us in great numbers, and they have certainly started now. Some while ago we had a number of opinions as to why the geese take to the air at this time of year, and where they are going when they do.

Apparently, according to the experts, the geese are obeying an ancient migratory instinct which they no longer need, and now they actually fly nowhere in particular, but just take a round trip and return to where they started - Lodmoor or Radipole Lake - feeling a lot better for the trip. They certainly make a beautiful sight - and sound - as they pass by. These welcome visitors overhead reminded me of one that was less welcome, which was the small plane pulling an advertising banner which used to circle, noisily and endlessly is seemed, over our area whenever the sun shone. Thankfully there was no sign of it this year at all - not enough sun, perhaps - but we should all be grateful for the peace and quiet.

• MARY from Preston tells me that the Weymouth Branch of the Workers' Educational Association - the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult learning - will be holding two courses in the near future. The first of these is entitled Landscape history in Dorset', in which the tutor, Katherine Baker, will be exploring some of the source materials that help unravel and reconstruct the contribution of the past to the countryside of today that we think we know so well. There are 6 meetings, which take place in the Church Rooms on Mondays between 2pm and 3.30pm, starting on Monday, 29 September with a half term break on Monday, 27 October 2008.

The subject of the second course is From sheep to shelf - medieval illuminated manuscripts', which is an illustrated course looking at how and where illuminated manuscripts were made, and their subject matter, such as the natural world, work on the land through seasons, the liturgical year and saints and sinners. The tutor is Sue Smith, and the six meetings will take place at The Acorns, Grosvenor Road, Weymouth on Tuesdays between 7.30pm and 9pm, starting on Tuesday, 30 September, with no meeting on Tuesday, 28 October 2008. The fees are the same for each course, £31, which are collected on the second meeting, so you can go along to the first meeting and see if the course suits you. If you are interested in either, or both of these courses, contact Jenny Bown on 01305 814598 after 6pm for further information. Incidentally, if you have received a WEA leaflet about these courses, the dates for the Landscape course are as above, and not as printed.

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