Home at last

We arrived home to Coneysthorpe yesterday after 5 weeks of a northern summer. We were relieved to be greeted by skies that were glorious blue. However, the Gentlemen of the Met Service (GOMS) advised us that it would be a cold night. It was - we have our own gauge here.

One cat on the bed = sudden drop of temperature, possibly not predicted by the GOMS
Two cats on the bed = general lethargy + weekend preceded by rain or cold day
One cat on the bed and two inside = winter has arrived.

This morning there was a heavy frost and three cats in various stages of fluffed-up-ness in the bedroom.

I have made a fire in the kitchen, got the ingredients ready for a vegetable winter pie and am armed with a long shopping list to replenish the larder.

It is so good to be back.

Oh, and a favourite shot from our trip - a theological bookshop in Oxford, St Philips, complete with Jacobean fire screen and ceiling moulds