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It's always a bit of a culture shock returning to work after a holiday - none more so for me this year after a trip to South Africa.

The 2010 World Cup catapaulted this country of contrasts into the global spotlight but few would have glimpsed the stark contrasts which still exist between the white-gated communities and the shanty towns occupied by the black population.

There's freedom of movement now but not much else, and the gap between the haves and have-nots is huge.

Set all of that against the most stunning landscapes, coastline, wildlfe and natural resources that anyone could wish for.

They are planning a national health service and want to introduce a form of National Insurance; free education is also an ambition.

It's easy to sit in the back of the bus, full of solutions for fledgling economies but at present we don't look like we're in a position to preach.

The return home was greeted with a reduced growth forecast and house price falls as our economy splutters.

More cheering is a new three-year project under way in East Anglia to try to save the turtle dove from extinction.

MPs, led by the Liberal Democrat Bob Russell, have signed a Commons motion, saying the turtle dove population is a tenth of what it was 40 years ago.

They blame the disappearance of wildflowers brought about by intensive farming.

And they're welcoming a research project in East Anglia, where seed-rich corn crops are being sown to help tackle the problem.

Turtle doves are flying round with tracking transmitters to find out what they are eating and how they are managing to rear their young.

It's hoped the data will give enough evidence to prove farmers should be paid to plant a special seed mix, specifically to feed turtle doves.

The says:

"Turtle doves were once widespread but are now mostly found in East Anglia and south-east England. While they used to breed up to four times a year, recent research shows that they now struggle to get into breeding condition and can only make one or two attempts"

Farms at Diss in Norfolk and Westhorpe in Suffolk have already signed up to the project. The RSPB is looking for 16 farms in all to take part in the trials.

In the Bible turtle doves are a sublime vision of earthly love and friendship.

Perhaps South Africa could do with a few.

THE MOTION IN FULL: That this House is alarmed at the huge reduction in the number of turtle doves, down by 88 per cent since 1970 and fears that the bird faces extinction in the British Isles; notes that the reduction has been caused by the disappearance of wild flowers brought about by intensive farming; welcomes a research project by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Natural England which involves the sowing of plots of seed-rich corn crops in 16 farms across East Anglia; and calls on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to promote policies to reverse the decline in turtle doves.

The motion is signed by Liberal Democrat MPs Bob Russell, Mike Hancock, and deputy leader Simon Hughes, Conservatives Robert Halfon and Peter Bottomley, and Labour MPs Kelvin Hopkins and Eric Illsley.

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