'The DSM' Editorial - Issue 105 New Year Catch Up.


A quick catch up. Two days before Christmas Anna returned from Australia, where she had been visiting her sister on the Gold Coast for three weeks. She had been eating turkey in sweltering heat, avoiding bushfires and attending numerous Great Gatsby-style parties. I stayed at home, with the cat, the never-ending rain, a long list of DIY jobs and constant texts from Down Under telling me what a fabulous time she was having. 

Fabergé, our feral French cat, for an outdoor cat, seems to be spending a lot of time lounging on the sofa. He has weedled his way into Anna’s affections and I fear we could be approaching the ‘it’s him or me’ scenario. I might find myself living in the barn, before long, sleeping on a pile of logs and going to the tiolet in a pile of builder’s sand.

We placed a cowl or (spinney thing) on top of the chimney to stop smoke being blown back into the kitchen. At first it made no sound, it whizzed round in the strongest of winds with not a squeak. Now, when the north wind blows, instead of smoke coming down the chimney we have the sound of a helicopter landing on our roof, as though the evacuation of the American Embassy in Saigon is taking place. I will have to get up there with a bit of WD40.

As the water levels subside, alas, so does the dwindling log pile. But the sun has returned and given us some glorious weather, bonfires have been lit, lawns mowed, New Year’s resolutions broken, sunsets admired and we have been reminded of how lucky we are living in this beautiful part of the world. 

Whatever your plans for the year, may they be fruitful. We wish you all the very best for 2020 and hope you enjoy our first offering of the year.





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