Winter has arrived! Just when I was enjoying the late autumnal sun in my room with a view, Storm Arwen, the first of the season, slammed in and made a right mess. The northerly gale brought polar air down from the Arctic and the temperature dropped to 2 degrees last night – very unusual for the seaside.

So the party is truly over and it’s now the job to clear the debris, mulch over and leave it all to rest until next spring. These were the last blooms of the year before the storm.

The Dogwood was already shedding its leaves to expose its ruby red stems and the storm has now finished the job. The claret sedums have hung on and the storm will have done it no harm in spreading its seed heads for new blooms next year.

As the season turns to winter, it is worth taking pleasure in small things. For me, it’s the steps down to the house which have just been paved. Just look at this brilliant workmanship. It takes real skill to place and level the very heavy paving slabs before they are secured.

So while we are all confined to quarters, it’s time to make progress with my novel. The rewrite is done, edits this and next week and then the final chapters. Might just get in below 100k. It’s like doing a PhD again but I’m enjoying it this time round.

By the time you come back on New Year’s Eve, Christmas will have been and gone so have a happy one!