Coming back to cameras, my one pointing down the field has stopped working. I had trouble with it misting up earlier in the year but that cleared although a drop of water must have got inside. I don’t know whether this complete breakdown is connected or caused by something else but I’ll start by checking the cable. I’ve bought an Ethernet cable tester to help me. I’m not sure when I’ll get round to having a look though. It’s cold and wet, the camera is not in the easiest place for me to reach and I’m short on motivation…

We agreed on the same nut roast again this year and I’ve baked that and have it in the freezer. One thing that will be missing this year is sprouts. I ordered some in our weekly grocery delivery but they were out of stock when our delivery was picked. When I looked at our veg plot the other day, while most of my brassica had failed, I noticed a couple of cabbage that looked quite good so I think I’ll use one of these with the dinner. Nut roast, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots (I’m think of mashing them for a change), cabbage and bread sauce will do us.

I’ve bought some brandy so we’ll have brandy butter with the (shop bought) Christmas pudding. It’s a few years since we had that. Enthusiasm (which as indicated above, I’m low on) willing, I might also do a little bit of baking. I’ve already done a porter fruit cake which will do nicely as our Christmas cake but some buns and cheese scones would be nice to have around. I’m also thinking of some cheese straws which are another thing we’ve not had in a few years.

I’m a bit unsure about whether brother and wife will be visiting from Sheffield on the 27th. We had some reservations about this visit but, after a conversation between Paul and mum, agreed it could go ahead – lateral flow tests and government restrictions permitting. We now know that, regulation wise, Christmas Day is safe but I’m unclear what will happen from there or whether this government could spring an early surprise...