Yes, thank goodness - 31 days until the shortest day of the year arrives.  In the last couple of days especially, winter seems well and truly to have arrived - it`s cold, wet and pretty miserable out there and I hate it.

For some years now I have assumed that I have been suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) but so far this year it hasn`t been too bad, possibly because the weather hasn`t been too bad either.   But possibly also because rather than being a habitual SAD sufferer, maybe I`m just a miserable old git who hates winter and longs for those bright, warm, long days of summer.

Whatever it might be I`m counting the days to the winter solstice and I often think that once that milestone has been reached, along with the alleged festive season and the turn of the year, once again there are things to look forward to and days to count until the return of springtime. 

Come tomorrow, it will only be 30 days to go.   Reminds me of the demob chart I had when doing my National Service - the days (all 731 of them) were ticked off one by one in an ever decreasing circle, finally to arrive at the point when I said goodbye to all that and got on with life.

Maybe I can find an advent calendar that runs out on 21st December?