Our picture today is of Monsal Dale, a delightful valley in the Derbyshire Peak District where I walked yesterday. There were plenty of snow drops around but little other proper signs of Spring. In Cononley the first few lambs are now appearing. It is still a mystery how such charming lambs turn so quickly into miserable-looking sheep.

Sunday morning rant: Radio 5 constantly seeks higher and higher levels of inanity. This morning we have been treated to a man who thinks that Dachshunds weigh 1.5 grams (and rejected the idea that they may be 1.5 kilos as being preposterous) and a woman waffling on without purpose about mortgages and being told that the concept of an endowment was too technical. I appreciate that this is supposed to be a relatively light-hearted piece of radio but there seems to be no differentiation between light-hearted and stupid.

A modest man

From time to time, someone is taken away from you, and you realise that the person you had previously vaguely regarded as constant was in fact ephemeral. It is only then that you begin to reflect on their contribution to the world.

The above is not meant as an emotional eulogy to the deceased, just a bald statement of fact. The man I have in mind is Bill Frindall, whose name is unrecognisable to waste swathes of the population. He was a cricket scorer who appeared on the BBC's Test Match Special. There are some charming moments from his career on the BBC website, which capture the essence of the understated and modest way in which he went about his work. I suppose it is this understatement and the element of geekiness which appeal to me; he was a man fascinated by his work and who combined it superbly into the programme. He may well prove to be irreplaceable.

On a more positive note, the rugby season starts this Friday. Leeds, Superleague Champions for the last two years and World Club Challenge winners, will start against Celtic Crusaders, the new team in the league from South Wales. I expect Leeds to show little mercy and give the Welsh a heavy beating. I do though think it is fantastic that clubs in expansion areas are in Superleague; the game will be strengthened as a result.