“We are sorry to announce that the 10.56 TransPennine Express service to Redcar Central has been cancelled.”

Hearing those familiar words, my heart sank. But a sudden, cheery chirping lifted the gloom. A sparrow was perched on the gutter of the little red-brick waiting room. The Thirsk Station sparrows were still here! Three Aprils have passed since I observed a sparrow couple nesting in the waiting-room roof. In that time, the world has changed dramatically; could there still be a breeding colony of sparrows here?