Winter Reasons to Be Cheerful

Winter is officially here. There are lots of glum people because of this. Sitting at your desk after a terrific week away, looking out the window to darkness at 4.30 pm made me blue for sure. So to cheer myself up, I decided to compile a new season Reasons to be Cheerful. These are them:

1. I can legitimately spend my evenings watching naff television without looking outside and thinking ‘I really should be out there doing something’.
2. Making Bramley apple crumble.
3. Rubbing rosemary and thyme all over rabbit, pheasant, and partridge and then scoffing them with my carrots and potatoes.
4. Next year’s seed catalogues are already arriving.
5. Sitting in front of the fire writing plans for next year.
6. The pungency of freshly dug leeks.
7. Finally getting the time to tidy up my shed and make it interesting.
8. Trying to blow smoke rings with my breath on a frosty morning.
9. Talking manure with Jan.
10. Bagging up my summer compost.
11. Sloe gin.
12. Maturing chutney.
13. Making loads of different soups.
14. Pumpkin and sage risotto.
15. Planting more raspberry canes.
16. Curly Kale.
17. PARSNIPS.
18. Bonfire Night.

Of course, there are loads more, but these are enough to keep me dreaming during reason number 19: early nights!