Soggy ground but not flooding here. Chilly weather wear. Disappointing cafe closure.

 Taking rubbish out to the dustbins in the garden, I had to change into stout waterproof shoes. As a rule I wouldn’t bother, I would just rely on making sure I used the doormat to wipe the soles of the canvas shoes I tend to wear around the house. At the moment, however, the garden is so sodden that not only would the soles of my shoes have been a little muddy but my feet would probably have been soaked. 

Still, it could be worse. Here’s a link to some photos of various parts of the UK which have been flooded as a consequence of Storm Henk.

It’s not raining today though. In fact, after a gloomy start we now have a rather watery blue sky and there is some sunshine. But it’s quite chilly and temperatures are forecast to drop further. In the early evening yesterday the sky cleared and the temperature plummeted - a sign of what we can expect over the next week, I think. My daughter is posting pictures of the lengths she has gone to keep warm: big jumper and a snood to make her feel wrapped up.

According to Jess Carter-Morley, fashion writer for the Guardian, we need warm, bright-coloured jumpers to help get through January’s gloom the fact that some of the jumpers she features are dark blue and black appears to be of no importance. One is quite ridiculous: the Bardot Jumper is a neat off-the-shoulder number, which would need the addition of a good shawl if it was to keep you warm. And then there’s the cost of some of the jumpers she recommends: £150 seems a little extortionate to me! 

Granddaughter Number Two is feeling devastated. She went online yesterday to see if she could find out when her favourite cafe is re-opening after the Christmas and New Year holiday period. They have decided to close down for good! Apparently they can’t afford to keep going. This despite the fact that whenever we have been there they have been very busy but perhaps that was just coincidence. And maybe they were just poorly positioned, in a little enclave opposite the Greenfield Tesco carpark, off the main street. Perhaps they would have fared better on the high street itself, catching some of the walkers who go through the area. 

But Granddaughter Number Two and I had been planning a visit or two there before she heads back to university. Now she will need to find a new favourite cafe. It will be hard for her to find one that makes as good a chocolate Guinness cake as the one they made in her favourite cafe. Granddaughter Number One suggests we look up a recipe and make it ourselves: “We are competent enough!” she declares. But it’s not the same. Part of the fun was having someone else make it, along with the Russian roulette aspect of whether they would have any left when you arrived at the cafe. So it goes!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!