This is a street I found in Orléans on a visit to France a few years ago. It would be nice to think that somewhere in Britain there's a street called the Street of Thoughts.

And yet more from la belle France . . .

(To gain the full benefits of the beauty of the French language, this is best recited out loud to oneself.)

Un petit d'un petit ça ton de waul,

Un petit d'un petit à de grite faux.

Aux de quinze ou seize

En au de quinze mein

Que dont put un petit

Tu gazeur à gain.

Ronald Searle, the illustrator, died on 30 December 2011. A couple of years ago he was being interviewed on 'Desert Island Discs' on BBC Radio 4, and at the end of the programme he was asked what the one luxury item would be that he'd take with him to the desert island. He replied that he'd take a bottle of champagne, and the interviewer said well wouldn't he be stuck when he'd drunk it, what would he do then? And he replied that he'd stick a note in the bottle saying, 'send me another' and throw it into the sea.

The Comestibles and Beverages Team from the Museum of Miniature Found Objects has been in attendance at the International Pie Awards at Olympia in London, on behalf of English Heritage Regional Pies. Brazil was represented by some charming festive pies, and Norway by a hand-raised musical pie. Featured here is the Venezuelan entry, which won bronze in the 'Pie as Portrait' category. It received special commendation from the judges for its resemblance to King Alfonso XVI of Portugal on the eve of his rout at San Fernando in 1461.

This is one of my favourite street names. It's in the village of Longridge, in Lancashire. Despite lengthy research and exhaustive enquiries, I haven't been able to find the origin of the name. Speculation has included a variety of woollen underwear designed to provide support as well as warmth, and a treacle factory ('Spread Crumpax on your crumpets for that winter warmth!'). Any further information would be most welcome.

The Museum of Miniature Found Objects would like to wish all our visitors and supporters a happy New Year! As ever, the museum has put together a fascinating range of exhibitions for 2012. Highlights of the forthcoming year include 'Beachcomber', a look at Britain's romantic relationship with its rivers and coast (February to April), and 'Shazam!', an intriguing look at magic and the found object (October). For more details of these exhibitions and information on the permanent collection, please see the leaflet stand by the noticeboard.