18 January 2026

Dawn was breaking on my way home from the East Sands where I was a lone walker. At the foot of the brae, heading up to town from the Kinnessburn, I saw a robin on top of a wooden fence bordering the garden. I stood still. 

The robin came towards me and stopped at the edge of the fence. He was  looking  at me. Was he longing for some food in very wintry weather? I wished I had brought some meal worms but I was empty-handed. The robin turned at right angles and continued to walk. I did too.

The ‘City of Haarlem’ is sitting outside my study door. I put the thirty-sixth hyacinth bulb in a glass jar of water to see its white roots grow. It is growing much faster than the bulbs planted in soil and sitting in the cooler environment of the front porch.

As you can see in the photograph, the ‘City of Haarlem’ is yellow and blooming beautifully. Whilst it is not as fulsome as it would have been if it had been planted in soil, it has an overwhelming fragrance which fills the space where the three doors meet. It is a welcome intimation of Spring.

There has been some excitement at the end of the street. Our old post-box has been refurbished and transformed. It still retains its original shape. Whilst it still accepts letters, it now has a facility for accepting parcels too. This is a welcome innovation.

Like other new initiatives, it relies on the computer to make it work with apps and all. It will receive parcels as big as shoeboxes in a separate opening. The human interaction with the postmaster is gone. We are all mechanical now. Thank God for the robin and the hyacinth and the good earth which brings contentment and joy!