Tiddly-pom!

[shewhomust]

We were invited by the chatelaine of Brancepeth Castle to her annual New Year's Day coffee and bread and cheese and make a contribution to charity if you feel like it. And first thing this morning we weren't sure, but the sun was shining and we thought we'd risk it. We arrived without mishap. The guests were gathered in the great hall, clustered around the fires burning one at each end of the room (with a Christmas tree reaching up to towards the ceiling in the middle), and we admired each other's boots and travels and courage. After a couple of hours, durham_rambler pointed out more snow was falling, and we beat a hasty retreat (with a little help to get the car moving, but once we had a grip on fresh snow we were fine).

Having been out of the house, however briefly, leaves me feeling much more positive about the year!