THE voice was familiar but I couldn't quite place it.

"It's Mr Sunshine, Lincoln," the caller explained and the penny dropped. Ernest Freed, man of many parts and a more accurate forecaster of Devon's weather than many of those experts in Exeter with all their new-fangled electronics.

It was the weather, as well as sundry other subjects, he wished to discuss. Ernest had just read my rather dismissive comment on global warming in last week's column and felt he would like to add his two pennyworth

"You are absolutely right, dear boy," he declared. "All this talk about global warming is absolute rubbish. They are trying to frighten us and there are some firms with a vested interest who are making a great deal of money out of it."

So does Ernest not believe the climate change warnings that are sending shivers of fear around the world from Alaska to Auckland and has inspired the brand new Transition religion with its main temple in Totnes?

"Yes I do believe in climate change," the Torbay sage went on. "But the climate has been changing on a regular pattern over the centuries with periods of warming and then cooling. It is nothing new."

So that's a relief. Thinking of golf prospects in the weeks ahead I asked whether the freezing conditions that disrupted our lives over Christmas are likely to return or can we rely on the experts' forecast of a warmer lead up to spring.

"I think the worst is over," was his prediction. And sure enough, one of his disciples arrived at that moment bearing a message of hope: Our postman in shorts — but walking very gingerly because the lane was a sheet of ice.