Hello, have you all survived the storms, if you’re in the UK and Ireland? It’s been WILD the last few days. Last night with over 50 mph wine it sounded like a high-speed train was rushing past the front of the house.

To my surprise, this morning, my few little plastic pots of chilli peppers and parsley in the garden are still standing! Today it’s a total contrast, sunny and bright with a bit of breeze. Lovely and far milder this week at 10°.

It’s hard not to begin January blog posts without a weather report, but amusingly I’m not the only one.

I really appreciative the sun so I could take a clear picture of my Ana Lucia shawl this week. It was the total opposite last Wednesday.

I was tempted to work on something else at the weekend for variety, but actually I want the prospect of a finished item. So I’m going to go on with this until I a) finish it or b) run out of yarn. B is a distinct possibility, or even certainty. If I speed up my crocheting and play yarn chicken, I’m pretty sure I cannot do all the repeats. I may be able to get some of this discontinued yarn on eBay. I’ll first message my local yarn shop, where I impulse bought this ball, just in case they’ve got some tucked away.

I remember when I went to browse and treat myself to something new, I was aiming to change my palette a bit, go for something neutral. Ha!

I saw that this was included on Audible’s Plus Catalogue so gave it a whirl, but preferred to read it at my own speed rather than the author’s. I ended up buying it on Amazon. It’s the diary of Ben who needed somewhere else to live in autumn 2020. Winnie had advertised for someone to live with her and lend a helping hand, be a presence in the substantial house. Family moving in with her had not worked out at all…

Winnie is 85, has lived in the house in Wimbledon, in south west London, for decades. Ben is 35, it has to be said is rather under her thumb, within a very short space of time. He wisely chooses the path of least resistance on most things. The peppercorn rent must have helped too.

Winne is extremely idiosyncratic, as we all are in the comfort and familiarity of our home, but additionally she is up and down emotionally as she is grieving the loss of her husband of 60 years, who died only 10 months before. On top of that the second National Lockdown comes only 10 days after Ben moves in. (Incidentally, we moved days before the first lockdown. It took ages to get to know neighbours, unless waving while trying to clap and banging saucepans counts. Doesn’t all that seem strange when we think about it now? Daily walks and socially distanced chats with strangers in the fields were highly valued.) Anyway, back to Ben and Winnie. So, life is not at all he imagines or is used to, in a nutshell he ends up spending most of his time with an octogenarian.

There’s a lot of humour in the diary. I recognise Winnie and like her immensely. She reminds me of family and people I’ve known. She recounts stories to Ben of places I know very well. I’ve slowed my reading right down. I know that I do this when really enjoying a book I don’t want to end. I did the same with Nina Stibbe’s most recent diary.

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Joining in with Kat and the gang for Unravelled Wednesday to also share what I’m making and reading. Why don’t you too? Or at least have a look at the links. There were some cracking blog posts last Wednesday.

It’s been pointed out to me with a burst of laughter that we had 50mph wine last night. I’m keeping it! Must be iPhone dictation’s sense of humour.