I’m sitting in my shed/studio, waiting for the heater to have some effect, and trying to make my frozen fingers do some artwork for my latest book. The grass outside is frosty, the air is misty and the car widsceen is frozen over.

I suddenly became aware of a sound. “Wha-woo-woo” A pair od Collared Doves are calling to each other, one in a tree, the other on a tv ariel. I get this sound all summer while I work at the bottom of the garden. It’s only in hearing it again that I realise that they have been silent all winter.

A tiny sign that spring can’t be that far away…