12 Days Of Suffolk Christmas

Some Suffolk connections for a bit of festive fun

- Jayne Lindill

1 THE PARTRDIGE RETURNS

Adam Steed, teacher and part-time gamekeeper, received the Castleacre Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) regional award for his conservation work, which has resulted in a big increase in grey partridge numbers at Red House Farm, Bacton, where he works in his spare time. Partridge are seen as a barometer of the environmental health of farms and numbers are up.

2-7 IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BIRDS – TURTLE DOVES TO SWANS A-SWIMMING

Turtle doves: you might be lucky to see two but this is the UK’s fastest declining bird. Join Suffolk Wildlife Trust and help protect them. suffolkwildlifetrust.org

French hens: Shimpling artist Claire Weeks paints hens and cockerels of all nationalities. See her colourful range of merchandise which makes great gifts, at claireweeksart.co.uk

Colly birds: aka blackbirds. Mike Keen, who runs The Boot pub at Freston, near Ipswich, and has a beloved raven Grippe, is training and breeding ravens for the Ravenmaster at The Tower of London. The Boot is the only place outside The Tower to do so. Gold rings: delicious rounds of Suffolk Gold cheese, handmade by Suffolk Farmhouse Cheeses, the family-run business of Jason and Katharine Salisbury. suffolkcheese.co.uk