WE were reliably informed by a group of French monsieurs and madames (probably the worse for wear on chateau plonk) that Armageddon would occur on December 21 at 11.11am.

Three minutes before that time I was driving twixt Coveney and Little Downham and espied a group of creatures exiting a number of 4x4 vehicles wearing wax jackets, green wellies, Santa hats and armed with shotguns.

“What could they be?” I asked myself. “Aliens come to save us perhaps?”

I waited around and by 11.15am the world hadn’t come to an end and we had all lived to fight another day.

This also unfortunately applied to the “aliens” who turned out to be the usual unspeakable creatures going about their business shooting defenceless wildlife at Christmas.

A Londoner by birth, I love this area and its wildlife - pity some of the locals don’t.

GRAHAM JONES

Windmill Close

Ely

Via e-mail