Yesterday was...

A good day for:

Northerners, with a survey conducted at railway stations in London, Newcastle and York, claiming that people from the north are more that 50 per cent more likely to laugh at a joke than those from the south. The survey was described as "only slightly scientific".

A bad day for:

Luton pigeons, who are being scared out of their normal flight paths by an eagle owl and a hawk working for the local council as part of a pest control programme. The pigeons, we are assured, are only frightened, not caught and eaten.