Earth stood hard as iron …..

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The house I’m staying in is two kilometres back from the coast on an exposed plain and a murderous frost took hold of it last night. We spent a lovely evening in front of the open fire in the kitchen with wine, and it was only when I ventured upstairs to go to bed that I realised there was no central heating. I could see my breath hanging as a vapour in front of my face and the window panes radiated coldness in my direction when I went to draw the curtains. The evening’s final use of the facilities was challenging and I was thankful that my brother had the foresight to have an indoor facility built, although the outhouse is still functioning too. I usually love climbing in between clean, cold, starched bed sheets. It’s a bit of a treat, but this was agonising. I even found myself hoping that the big ginger cat would leave its post by the dying embers of the kitchen fire to join me in bed. And the sky was magnificent, all wiped clean of clouds and flooded with a glut of stars, and only the occasional bellow of the bull in the field beside the house disturbed the freezing silence. I hoped fervently not to need another toilet visit before dawn.