Sunday 20th December.

 It is Sunday, still dark, the little cat sits on the steps outside, never coming in but needing our companionship. Yesterday was slightly fraught but good things happening as well.  A batch of Xmas cards, one from my daughter with a grumpy cat face, my duties as to catching and neutering cats round here I have given up.

There was another funny little card with a Xmas tree from Paul's sons, the card featured a very modernistic Xmas tree, on turning it over it was a card printed by a London nursery school of Leo's painting, Paul's grandson.  So a third boy in the family given an Anglo/Saxon name - Leofric / dear, beloved.

Also a parcel arrived, well several.  But the first had several wrapped parcels from the family.  The other two large ones, the delivery driver left before I could send them back,  I am not sure if they are not part of the scam of last week but I refuse to worry.

I have been using my new tablet early morning when it is too cold to get out of bed.  I travel to far away places such as the Shetland isles also the Faroe Islands and watch the seas crash against the steep cliffs.  These islands lashed by all weathers, are exceptional, they are the 'new in' place to go to.  But I expect their pull will be short-lived for many.  If you read Adam Nicholson's book of 'Sea Room'.  The one house on these Shiant Isles, has a plague of rats which run over your face at night.  Though I am not saying all the other inhabited islands have such problems, but when the sea gets rough then supplies are unable to get in.  I notice the 'incomers' build houses with windows for the views, and on the Orkney Isles, the great liners full of tourists pull in dwarfing the tiny harbour and they look ridiculous. 

I must admit this one looks like an enormous rabbit hutch, how do they stay upright on an angry sea I wonder.