Dear Grandad,

I have made a discovery. We were doing a project about old Plymouth at school this week and a man came in to talk about the area around here and to show us some pictures of what it used to be like. Guess what, 80 years ago The Plain had trees along it! He showed us a picture looking down from the top of the street and rather than the four lanes of road that there are now there was just one track on each side with trees running all the way down the middle and even some down the sides as well. There were lots more shops than there are now, all the way along each side – a butchers, a bakery, a fish shop – and there was a picture of the ironmonger’s shop – Old Shufflers shop – except that this was around the time he was born and so it must have been his father’s shop before it was his. Everything looked so nice – lots of space, less cars zooming around and people to-ing and fro-ing in and out of the shops.

It got me thinking. If there were trees on The Plain 80 years ago then there must have been birds too. And this was around the time that Old Shuffler was born. So when he was growing up there would have been birds all around The Plain, and when he was going to work in his shop in the morning or coming home at the end of the day he would have seen them. He could probably see them and hear them singing when he was at work. I bet he liked those birds. That must be what he meant when he asked me “Have you seen my birds?”. He was looking for the birds that he remembered from when he was a child like me. He couldn’t understand why things had changed and where they had gone. He was looking for the things he remembered but they just weren’t there anymore because the trees had been cut down to make space for the roads to come through.

I think it’s such a shame that The Plain has changed from those days. All the trees have gone, all the nice birds have gone and the scraggy old pigeons have moved in, sitting in rows on the top of the roofs and flapping down on the ground when there is food thrown down or rubbish they can pick at. I’m so glad we still have birds in our garden enjoying the trees and the bushes. They are nice birds. That blackbird I told you about was really kind too. I’m sure he got Annie’s football down from the tree and I am sure that he comes down just to see me and to make sure I am all right. Anytime I am feeling sad or upset about something, if I go into the garden he flies over onto his branch and sings for me, all chirpy and happy. I love him being there.

That’s all I wanted to say really, just to let you know that I have solved the mystery of Old Shuffler and his birds.

Lots of love,

Detective Kate x

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