On the eleventh day of Christmas...

...my true love sent to me,
Eleven swans a-swimming (ok, 8 plus 3 seagulls, and I'm 4 days late!!)
Ten Norwegian Nisse,
Nine chestnuts roasting,
Eight men a-smoking,
Seven trees a-hanging,
Six ladies dancing,
Five g-old things,
Four merry birds,
Three W-ise Men,
Two Christmas candles,
And a cat sitting under the tree!


A morning visit to Wells, England's smallest city and, as far as I'm concerned, its most beautiful! These are the famous Bishop's swans that live in the moat of the early-thirteenth century Bishop's Palace.

"The Bishop's Palace is famous all over the world for its swans who ring a bell alongside the gatehouse when they want food.

The swans are trained to pull on a rope which sounds the bell ringing and sends the Palace Caretakers... running to fetch some bread and open the window to feed them....

Swans at the Palace were first taught to ring a bell for food by the daughter of Bishop Hervey in the 1870s and the tradition continues to this day. Bread is tied in clumps to the rope attracting the swans to nibble at it and pull it off, when they do this the bell rings. Gradually less and less bread is tied onto the rope as they begin to understand that by pulling the rope and hearing the bell means food will soon follow."

http://www.bishopspalace.org.uk/swan-watch