Sometimes place names really are descriptive!

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The beach at Shellness on the Isle of Sheppey really is made up almost entirely of shells - unimaginable numbers of shells from a bewildering variety of sea creatures. It's good when places live up to their billing!

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Some parents shouldn't be let loose with names...

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Michael Crick reports on Ed Miliband's carefully constructed audience in Nottingham and speaking of one questioner says he was:

...a former councillor called Len, who admitted he'd actually been christened Lenin, and that his parents had called his brother Stalin.

Amazing! I once knew a lad called Sid - his full given name was Siddhartha. Some parents, eh!

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Now what does that remind you of?

The Cuckoo-pint (Arum maculatum) was originally termed 'Priest pint' but this was deemed rather irreverent and the name changed. 'Pint' of course is a contraction of 'pintle' an archaic word for a penis. The berries are poisonous but the root can be eaten - I'm told it was sold under the name 'portland sago'.

As to the name? With that bright colouring wouldn't 'clown pint' be better?

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