On the third day of Christmas… Three French hens From folk rhyme to free-ranging flocks, living the ancient cycle of light, instinct and life. Katayoun Dowlatshahi shares her love of hens

Plainly we must like / need our sugar..... Via BBC News

Behind the Christmas “three French hens” lies a tale of song, survival and sentient birds, rarely seen yet deeply woven into our rural past. | Katayoun Dowlatshahi

Turtle doves have been a symbol of love throughout history, writes Kate Moore. In Spain young lovers are called “dos tortolitos”. Let’s make sure future generations still know why. ❤️🕊️ #LoveAndNature #12DaysOfChristmas eastangliabylines.co.uk/environment/...

Did you guess where we are correctly? This lit building with giant Santa Claus is in Bishop's Stortford. Tomorrow we will share another wonderful East Anglian location.

The latest edition of the Bylines Network Gazette is out now! Breaking down climate change and sustainability from a citizen perspective, with articles from every corner of the UK and extra words from George Monbiot. Sign up to get your copy: bylinesnetwork.substack.com/p/december-b...

If you’re driving through the Norfolk Broads tonight, spare a thought for the region's folklore. During the winter solstice, when the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest, some spirits still expect company at Christmas...

Only 1 suggestion ... is this location a little too obscure? Clue: So the building, in the south of our region, was erected in response to Napoleonic's wars, lost wheat imports & higher prices for home grown wheat that led to the 1815 corn laws & a flourishing wheat trade.....

We need journalism which isn't owned by billionaires.

A red-listed turtle dove flew from the UK to Africa—and returned the next year. All for one nesting site. That’s how much home matters and it's time humans protected its habitat. Kate Moore has the story. #MigrationMarvels eastangliabylines.co.uk/environment/...

Only 1 suggestion ... is this location a little too obscure? Clue: So the building, in the south of our region, was erected in response to Napoleonic's wars, lost wheat imports & higher prices for home grown wheat that led to the 1815 corn laws & a flourishing wheat trade.....

Driving across East Anglia roadkill deer is sadly a very common sight. As far back as 2013, an academic study by University of East Anglia researchers suggested that around half of the UK's growing deer population needs to be shot each year to stop devastation of woodlands & birdlife Via BBC News

Twelve days, twelve symbols. Stephen McNair starts our series with the most mysterious: a partridge in a pear tree — and the girl who saved them both. Turtle doves tomorrow… eastangliabylines.co.uk/lifestyle/cu...

A proper boxing match ... for Boxing Day! From The Wildlife Trust at the other place

Only minutes to go for the start at noon of the traditional Grantchester, Coton Road, barrel rolling competition. If you are there, do post photos. Image via @cambridgeindy.bsky.social at the other place.

Today's the feast of St Stephen, 1st Century deacon and protomartyr whose death is described in the Acts of the Apostles. On the 15th Century screen at Ludham, Norfolk he holds stones, the instrument of his martyrdom.

“Two turtle doves…” 🎶 Once a symbol of love and loyalty, now on the UK Red List. This Christmas, writes Kate Moore, let’s protect the species that inspired the carol. #ConservationMatters eastangliabylines.co.uk/environment/...

We skip across East Anglia this Boxing Day. Can you guess to where? Answer at the end of the day Photo credit: H Playle

From 18th-century carol to 21st-century conservation: Stephen McNair reimagines the first gift of Christmas as an act of quiet defiance. eastangliabylines.co.uk/lifestyle/cu...

High winds and high tides may mean Boxing Day dips are cancelled, but @acarpen.bsky.social has a great alternative suggestion 👇 ... and it's traditional...

On the 2nd day of Christmas, my true love shouldn’t send two turtle doves… because they’re now one of the UK’s fastest-declining birds. Let’s give them what they really need: habitat, protection & a future. #12DaysofChristmas #TurtleDoves

🍽️ Christmas dinner round two? Bacteria love it when we leave warm leftovers sitting out at room temperature for an extended amount of time. Break up with bacteria by cooling leftovers quickly and getting them in the fridge.

Fantastic news... it's about time ALL mobility aids were recycled & reused by NHS....

From Christmas symbol to an endangered migrant – the turtle dove’s numbers have fallen 98% – but renewed habitat work will help it endure | Kate Moore

If you pass the orchard at dusk, you might miss it — unless you look up. Stephen McNair opens our Christmas series with a partridge roosting against the tide of change. eastangliabylines.co.uk/lifestyle/cu...

Did you guess where we are? It's the outside of the impressive Norwich Cathedral, with a modern representation of the Nativity crib. Tomorrow we move across the region for our Boxing Day where am I?

If you’re driving through the Norfolk Broads tonight, spare a thought for the region's folklore. During the winter solstice, when the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest, some spirits still expect company at Christmas...

Christmas Day is here and with it our final advent friend... Well - who else could it have been? 😉🎄 Wishing you a very merry Christmas, from all of us at the RSPB! #RSPBAdvent25

Was this 👇 too easy? Or are the guesses all wrong? Answer later today... thanks to all who embraced our East Anglia "where are we now?" journey quiz... Another tomorrow and each of the 12 days of Christmas.

Driving home for Christmas. Empty roads. A radio playing carols it shouldn’t. Some journeys home take you somewhere else entirely. A ghost story

A hollow pear tree. A girl with a notebook. A partridge that won’t leave. Stephen McNair begins our Twelve Days of Christmas storytelling here. eastangliabylines.co.uk/lifestyle/cu...

A veteran pear tree, a stubborn partridge, and a girl with a wooden sign — day one of our Christmas series reimagines “a partridge in a pear tree” for 2025. By Stephen McNair eastangliabylines.co.uk/lifestyle/cu...

East Anglia is blessed with many wonderful places to enjoy and explore especially over Christmas. So once again, over the 12 days of Christmas we will celebrate our region. Do you know where we are this Christmas Day? Answer given at end of the day. Photo credit: S Patey

The Christmas gifts, freebies and swanky receptions. The pull of money. The drip, drip, drip of temptation. Clive Lewis reflects on gifts which are freely given and those which quietly reshape the terms of political power.

A Christmas ghost story for those who know the Broads after dark – where water waits, roads vanish, and folklore remembers. The past doesn’t rest quietly in Norfolk.

Today is the first day of Christmas. Twelve days, twelve symbols. We start with the most mysterious: a partridge in a pear tree — and the girl who saved them both. Turtle doves tomorrow…

The Adoration of the Shepherds in 15th Century glass at East Harling, Norfolk. Today is Christmas Day, the First Day of Christmas. Merry Christmas to all!

Today we launch our seasonal series of articles for the twelve days of Christmas, with a tale of a girl, a partridge and a pear tree | Stephen McNair

The most dangerous gifts are the ones you’re allowed to accept. Clive Lewis explains how Britain’s political culture rewards proximity to money – and why individual morality can’t fix a structural problem. See why it matters eastangliabylines.co.uk/politics/gif...

Driving through the Norfolk Broads on Christmas Eve, you expect fog, frost, silence. You don’t expect the dead to start asking questions. A ghost story.

Christmas cheer in Westminster isn’t as innocent as it looks, writes Clive Lewis. Behind the receptions, freebies and “within the rules” gifts, lies a system that quietly reshapes power – and who it really serves. eastangliabylines.co.uk/politics/gif...

Miss one appointment on the day you’re released from prison – through no fault of your own – and you risk being sent straight back. eastangliabylines.co.uk/news/welfare...

Humanity lives on a crust <1% of Earth’s mass, yet beneath us lies a planet-sized power source. Deep geothermal could run 24/7 for as long as Earth exists. Two projects are moving us forward. Stephen McNair reports eastangliabylines.co.uk/energy/unlim...

On Christmas Eve, the past doesn’t rest quietly in Norfolk. It rides, it follows, and it waits at the bridge. A ghostly tale.... eastangliabylines.co.uk/regions/angl...

From all of us at EAB! 🎄 📷 Mike Whitby

On a lonely Christmas Eve drive through the Norfolk Broads, ghosts stir and refuse to stay buried... | East Anglia Bylines

Driving through the Norfolk Broads on Christmas Eve, you expect fog, frost, silence. You don’t expect the dead to start asking questions. A ghost story.

The most dangerous gifts are the ones you’re allowed to accept. Clive Lewis explains how Britain’s political culture rewards proximity to money – and why individual morality can’t fix a structural problem. See why it matters eastangliabylines.co.uk/politics/gif...