Today has been cold and grey and just a bit hibernatory in feel. In the morning I headed into Bicester, doing the rounds of the shops, I got some new cartridges for my brush pen, explored the new Wilkinson’s – and coming out with bargain-priced scrubbing brush, triple-A batteries, and a set of watchmaker’s screwdrivers (all things I needed) – before going to get our veg from Hayley and Spence. I got back from Bicester just in the time before heavy, cold rain came down. In the afternoon we cleaned the house and then bedded down to hibernate, and I finished up preparing my mum’s book, The Underhill Buttons for publication.

The day cleared by the end of the afternoon and we headed out for some winter sun, snowdrops, and the canal at Somerton…