Its Episode 3 and I am here to serve you yet another sonic concoction of the finest new music from across the world.

Whilst it might seem a surprise that this series still gives so much pleasure in its ninth outing this is testament to Elly Griffith’s eye for continual character development and making her archaeological revelations not only accessible to armchair readers but also relevant, as is the case with The Chalk Pit and its links to the homeless community. There is a large colony of chalkhill blue butterflies on the reserve which are on the wing from mid-July. to the north of the village of Barkway and 4km south of Royston, near the top of the north-facing chalk scarp slopes.If Lime Kiln Close, the oldest part of the quarry, is shrouded in tree-mystery, East Pit, the neighboring part of the complex, is a miracle of hidden open space. In this instalment more than any of the previous encounters I felt Griffiths really did tap into the unspoken feelings and private longing of both Nelson and Ruth. Management has concentrated on keeping the grassland in good condition, with autumn and winter grazing by Hebridean sheep helping keep some of the rough competitive grasses in check, allowing finer grasses and flowering plants to thrive. Most of it has been taken over by caravan parking, and yet this strip that remains, strung through with a single path and just dense and wide enough to feel self-contained, seems to be the most secret of all. Time certainly flies when in the company of forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway, DCI Harry Nelson and Elly Griffith’s gang of assorted cast members and I cannot deny that every moment has been a pure and unadulterated joy.

Put your hands to the chalk slopes or exposed chalk surface and you we understand why the butterflies like to sunbathe on it. As Ruth and Nelson investigate the tunnels, they hear rumors of secret societies, cannibalism, and ritual killings. DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘chalk pit'.

Abandoned chalk pits are often good sites for orchids and Shide is no exception, with populations of bee orrchid, pyramidal orchid and southern marsh orchid. The first ‘pioneer’ species of lichens and moss colonise the quarry face and short-tufted grassland develops on the thin soils of the quarry floor supporting wild pansy, wild thyme and mouse-ear hawkweed. The area owned by North Herts Council contains the disused pit, a small area of chalk grassland and associated scrub, with mature woodland around the peripheries. With the presence of soda lime indicating that the two victims had been drugged prior to being murdered, someone is clearly intent on keeping a far darker secret hidden. Hill End Chalk Pit is Registered Common Land and a Local Wildlife Site due to its chalk grassland habitat.

However, fish including carp and tench have lived in the lake, and since the late 20th century a Chinnor Works Angling Society has had permission to fish the lakes. Since Roman times, chalk has been regarded as valuable source material for fertiliser and mortar, cement and concrete.

On the other hand, the interpretive sign tells me that the reserve is carefully maintained by volunteers trimming ivy and pollarding trees. There is a variety of habitats as plants colonise the bare chalk and different wildlife communities occur as succession takes places over time. Here and there are milky puddles and patches of slick pale rock polished by rain and the feet of local ramblers; their dogs leave pawprints in the chalk mud. More established grassland on the quarry top supports common and greater knapweed, field scabious and burnet saxifrag e.