WHY COCKSPARROW ?

     Whilst walking in the sand dunes around Winterton, as a child. l once
  found a dead Kestrel. It was the most perfect and exotic bird of prey l had
  ever come so close to. l held it in awe and fascination. l stroked it, admired
  its colour, feathers, wings, talons and beak. l loved it and wanted to keep it.
  l didn't want to leave it behind. l begged my father to let me keep it.What
  could he do, it was going to spoil, as l didn't want to bury it! So after some
  time he came up with a plan."O K, then we will go and see old Freddie", he
  said. So we did with the little dead bird.

     Freddies place was a bungalow on the Larkman lane in Norwich. Old
  Freddie looked just like the Crow Man from Worzel Gummage. Freddie
  was a Taxidermist. I was gob smacked. His house was like a trappers
  hut. From floor to ceiling it was stuffed with every sort of animals, birds,
  beasts, reptiles, insects, fish, frogs and god knows what. l was star struck.
  Alas Freddie said that my little find was beyond repair. But he showed us
  around and made tea.That was it the dye had been cast. So we left him.

     Soon after l found a dead cocksparrow. With visions of Lazarus, l set about
  trying my hand at resurrecting the bird. By the time l had finished it and
  setting it on a twig, it had gone through quite a transformation. l could not
  be more proud but, l had compleated it. The next time I met old Freddie l
  showed off my acheivement. He was silent for awhile then laughed. "Well"
  he said, When l was a boy l tried to stuff a mole and took it to the workshop
  of a victorian taxidermist named Tom Gunn. He to had laughed but told
  Fred that because he had tried, he would take him on as an apprentice.
  So Freddie told me that he would do the same for me.

      Every Sunday from then on l would cycle up to Freds place and learn the
  art of taxidermy. I learnt many things, that a Gannets nostrils are inside their
  beak, so that the water doesn't go up their noses while diving. That foxes have
  a bone in their doo daar and never cut through the musk glands of a stoat. l
  learnt how to skin rats, rabbits, owls, fish and much more. How to get old body
  out, how to put the new one in.How to put eyes in and take brains out. All
  interesting stuff. I joined the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalist Society. We
  cycled around the country lanes picking up road kill. On whitch we dinned.
  l never became that accomplished at taxidermist. For ever after Fred used to
  call me his little Cocksparrow.