Snow

The average snowflake has a top speed of 1.7 metres per second.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest snowflake on record measured 38cm wide and 20cm thick. It was observed in Montana, USA in 1887 and described by witnesses as "larger than a milk pan".

Hadleigh Castle

Hadleigh Castle is in the English county of Essex and overlooks the Thames estuary from a ridge to the south of the town of Hadleigh. The castle was built around 1215 during the reign of Henry III by Hubert de Burgh, and was surrounded by parkland it had both an important economic, as well as defensive role. Hadleigh Castle was expanded by Edward III, to defend against potential French attack as well as provide the king with a convenient private residence close to London. The ground on which the castle is built is an unstable hill of London clay, the castle has often been subject to subsidence; this, combined with the sale of its stonework in the 16th century has led to it now being ruined.

I say potato You say potato

2008: The Year of the Potato
In 2008 the United Nations declared it the International Year of the Potato. The main aim of the year was to note "that the potato is a staple food in the diet of the world's population" and "revive public awareness of the relationship that exists between poverty, food security, malnutrition and the potential contribution of the potato to defeating hunger"

• In 2007 China was the worlds top potato producer, supplying the world with over 72 million tonnes of potatoes
• Per person, Europeans ate 87.8kg of potatoes in 2005
• The top potato consumers in Europe were the Russians eating over 18 million tonnes, not even closely followed by the Ukrainians and the United Kingdom, each consuming a mere 6 million tonnes.