I’m just back from a beautiful Australian summer, into deep, cold winter; dreaming of the bulb-laden spring around the corner…whilst looking at my autumn blog post that’s a little overdue.

Most people I know had been dreading the day coming. We weren’t ‘surprised’ at how sad we felt, more confused by the realisation of how much love we felt for someone we had never met.

We were also a little worried about what it might bring next. Would support for the monarchy wane? 

It’s been a summer of two halves. 

I sometimes wonder if I left my heart in Australia when I moved back to the UK. Don’t get me wrong, I love my country of birth and wouldn’t want to leave it for now. But, (incredibly) some six and a half years on, Australia is still present, still there, still with me deep inside, on a day to day basis.

Well, it all got a bit interesting when the awards were handed out at Chelsea this year. Golds were given to Sarah Eberle, Chris Beardshaw, Ruth Wilmott, Andy Sturgeon, Joe Perkins, Lulu Urquhart and Adam Hunt – which all seemed about right – but Best in Show went to the last of these two designers, for their ‘Rewilding’ garden.

It’s back. It’s back. Oh, what a wonderful thing!

Those of us old enough to have watched Open All Hours will remember Ronnie Barker’s catchphrase, “it’s been a funny old day”.

I think that’s what you call the nick of time. The last card posted (next door), the last present wrapped and dinner is in the oven. Phew! Never has Christmas Eve arrived quite so quickly. And not without a few false starts (and the odd cough), but here we are: Mum, Dad, Paul and I, all lateral flow tested, sitting around the fire with glasses of mulled wine, relieved to not be having a repeat of last Christmas.

I’ve had to have a rethink. 

As the first rays of sunlight peeped over the horizon and the darkness started to ease, I noticed the silhouette of two small ears outlined against the white garage doors.