The Tate's Christmas tree this year is a rather bare affair. It has been created by Giorgio Sadotti and features a circle of silver postcards around the base and a coiled bullwhip. The artist is know for an art practice that “celebrates the power of nothing”. That may be so but a few fairy light wouldn’t go amiss.

In one of the more bizarre stories I have come across regarding the recent bad weather a swan has to be rescued after it became frozen to the ground. The swan was stuck on a driveway by its feet which had frozen to the ground. The home owner managed to release it by pouring warm water around its feet but one of its feet appeared to be damaged. It was later collected by Bishop Wood Swan Rescue a local voluntary group.

A clever cat has been hailed a hero after he saved his owners home from burning down. Pepper (pictured) has developed a way of opening windows to let himself out. When fire broke out the cat opened the window to escape the smoke alerting neighbours to the fact that there was a fire inside. Neighbours called firefighters who were able to put out the fire before it spread to the rest of the house.

This is interesting, it’s a video looking inside what is thought to be the world’s most expensive book. The book is John James Audubon's Birds of America. Apparently it caused something of a sensation when it was published in the 19th Century. It has been valued at between £4m and £6m and is being sold as part of the collection from the estate of the 2nd Baron Hesketh. Whilst quite impressive what is interesting is that the illustrations would have been completed by people who had never actually seen a live example of the birds in question, hence why they lack background detail and in some case they were dismissed an inaccurate.

If you like whisky and have a bit of spare cash then you might be interested in this idea. Based on the book 101 Whiskies to Try Before you Die it is the ultimate package of just that, 101 whiskies, in fact one of each mentioned in the book. The special offer is available from Royal Mile Whiskies until the end of December and even includes a free copy of the book, bargain.

A man has survived eating nothing but potatoes for two months.  Chris Voigt ate 20 potatoes a day during the diet and managed to lose a stone and half in weight as a result. He is the the executive of the Washington State Potato Commission and embarked on the diet to try and draw attention to the nutritional benefits of eating the vegetable.

I came across this article which highlights some of the creations by fashion house United Bamboo. As you see they have been made exclusively for cats. The poor things don’t look very happy and not I’m sure I would get my cats into any of these outfits. They do look funny though.

According to this article we will see less robins this year as their numbers are 27% lower than average. In fact robin numbers are at their lowest since 1997 according to a recent study. It is thought the decline is down to last years harsh winter which reduced the amount of food available for the birds. As the robin does not migrate in winter they tend to suffer more than other birds in freezing conditions. I have quite a few robins in my garden and have been keeping them well fed with seed, bread and kitchen scraps particularly during the recent snow when their food is harder to find.