Turning back the clocks
I went up the clock tower at Manchester Town Hall this morning. Now I don't have a great head for heights so standing on a ledge high above Albert Square wasn't easy.
But the thing that really did turn my stomach was the skeletons and body parts scattered around. I kid you not. It seems there are two murderers hiding away at the top of the clock tower. They attack the innocent and leave their remains to rot.
So who are these wicked perpetrators? Well none other than two peregrine falcons who nest at the top of the town hall. Their prey? Passing pigeons.
The whole ledge, which juts out just above the clock, was covered with bits of bird. I saw one mangled claw with a racing pigeon ring still attached. Now that sight is worse than a bad case of vertigo, let me tell you.
I feel sorry for any pigeon fancier awaiting that particular bird's return.