Our Christmas and new year treats – Tunnock’s caramel wafers and tea cakes – are a distant memory and it has been a long cold January. The raging virus means we still cannot travel but a camera overlooking the seaside garden and the bay keeps us in touch with the weather. It has been very stormy of late with the most recent, Storm Christophe, pouring the contents of the ocean onto a very soggy landmass. There have been howling gales and stormy wild seas, and very grey leaden skies. But the daffodils are out!

It is a good time to hunker down and dream of better things to come like walking around our bay which is ten miles wide. To the west, there are rocky inlets and coves that are only accessible at low tide, and a steep climb up to a bench located at the crest of the cliff gets you a fine view on a clear day. It is worth the effort.

To the east, there are miles of white sands which are accessed via steep goat paths. As the bay curves round and you climb back up the cliff, there is a lovely path to an isolated medieval chapel standing out on the peninsula. It is worth the effort.

A good locked down project, getting fluent in mandarin, is the order of the day. Learning to read, write and speak a form of this ancient language is coming along. It is the Chinese new year on Friday 12^th February. The year of the ox starts with this Spring Festival and rolls around Valentine’s Day. We are hoping to travel after the virus review mid-month – fingers crossed that all will be well. In the meantime, Happy Chinese New Year:

Xīn nián kuài lè

Come back next time as we head towards a brighter time in the spring.