We are in June and this being winter, we have experienced a unusually cold snap in recent days. It's not cold by Northern European standards, but cold enough in the evenings to light a fire.

My combustion heater is 30 years old now and somewhat the worse for wear, but I keep it going each year with a bit of tinkering. The glass screen is intact despite a tiny crack in the corner (for which I bought a hearth screen as security) and while it does not burn as efficiently as once it did, it does lift the inside temperature into double digits. I enjoy gathering wood and laying the kindling in the box, though I can no longer swing an axe because of my shoulders. Honestly, there is nothing more satisfying than laying into a block of wood!

Yesterday my choir (Moo) performed at a retirement village in Springwood. I think we made a good show of it and the residents seemed genuinely happy, some even having a spring in their step, as of yore. Singing, like chopping wood, is a joy.