My drive to Baitings Dam to watch the blood moon rise wasn't completely wasted as I encountered a pair of llamas, without their pyjamas, and a gaggle of noisy inquisitive geese joking about the government's test of the emergency broadcast system earlier in the day.

As a further humourous aside, the topical issue of immigrANTS crossing the channel in boats made me think about the illegal occupants of my narrowboat - immigrARACHNIDS I call them.