Although it must have come by snail mail rather than air mail (as the enclosed picture was actually taken on April 1), this little letter from an "anonymous twitcher" made me laugh.

"On your letters page of the 15th February, the Rev Bob Pitcher of Llanidloes was bemoaning the ailing economic situation in his town, and contrasting it with the good fortune of Cley Next the Sea in Norfolk, which had an invasion of twitchers, following the discovery of a White-crowned Sparrow.

"He went on to suggest if a rare bird, such as the Blue Chaffinch, endemic to Tenerife, were to be found, then the economy could only benefit.

"I am sorry to be the bringer of bad news for him. As you can see from the enclosed photograph, this bird, previously unknown in Britain, has turned up in Montgomeryshire, not in Llanidloes but in Welshpool.

"The photograph clearly shows this species, and was taken while I was on holiday in Wales. As I am Spanish, I am already familiar with this bird. If it is seen again, no doubt the Welshpool economy will benefit to an unprecedented extent. The photograph was, of course taken on April 1.

Yours Faithfully, Juan T. Witchers.

(I note the email actually comes from Chris Townsend)

Add to this our story on Page three about the fun-loving WI ladies who "sabotaged" a guest speaker's garden by planting artificial flowers, and you can see we're a fun-loving lot here in Mid Wales.

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ANOTHER barmy thing this week was a message from Llanfair resident Bob Valentine who praises fellow columnist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the Daily Telegraph.

It's a bit of a dig at the PR machine of the windfarm companies, who are often spinning faster than their own turbines here in Mid Wales.
Bob says: "It seems from his (Ambrose's) article that 'windfarms' (the industry's clever name for power stations) are to be no longer; henceforth they are to be 'Aeolian Parks – and scattered over the hill-top ridges'.

Lord, please take me now, adds Bob – I'm with him on that!

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IF you want to see an uplifting story take a look at our County Times Child of the year winner, six-year-old Nathan Bebbington, who is featured on Page 27.

Due to birth defects every day is an act of sheer courage for this little fellow, especially when at the age of three he had to have both of his legs amputated at the knee and be fitted with prosthetic limbs.

"He is so happy and cheerful it makes me feel ashamed when I moan and groan," says Elaine Richards, who nominated Nathan for the award.