I'm sure many of you will be aware of the devastating fire that ripped through the second floor of the Grade II-listed 130-year-old HSBC bank in the Market Place. I visited the town centre the day after the fire and took some footage of the disaster zone, which I uploaded to my YouTube channel shortly thereafter. I do apologise for how long it took me to mention such news here...

Yes, you heard me right. I hate puffin crossings. Before I explain why I hate puffin crossings, you might ask, "What's a puffin crossing?" In fact, there are several types of signalised pedestrian crossings, all named after birds. The classic design is the pelican crossing, which has a button on the side near you. (All types of signalised pedestrian crossings have a button, so I shall not repeat this henceforth.) The pelican crossing also has pedestrian signals mounted high up on the opposite side of the road. There are a couple of variants of this basic design: the toucan crossing (the name is a pun on the words 'two can') has an additional signal for cyclists, while the Pegasus crossing (also known simply as an equestrian crossing) has buttons higher up for use by mounted equestrians as well as a fenced area for horses and their riders to wait. Then we come to the new-fangled abomination that is called the puffin crossing. The puffin crossing has sensors to dete...

Last month, I took a look around the new Garendon Park estate. The little that has been built as of yet is really beginning to take shape. When I saw the new Google Street View imagery taken last September, I knew I had to get up there and see it myself. That took quite some time - I actually passed that way twice later that autumn on the bus, but both times on the outbound journey I didn't take any pictures: I have a distinct preference for sitting on the right-hand side of motor vehicles, and on both occasions I was also preoccupied with listening to some newly-bought music. On the way back, it was too dark to photograph anything. Then later in December I took a walk down the now-closed Pear Tree Lane, observing the dramatic reprofiling of the terrain in the field to the north. But my visit last month was the first time I went around the front of the new estate on foot. And things are beginning to take shape, with a new roundabout already finished, and several of the new homes al...