I have been working at home this week and feeling keenly the lack of light, the days getting shorter and darker. Having unpacked and sorted out my unit after the Midwinter Fair last week I decided to take a couple of my large glass lanterns home. I put two of the white pillar candles I found in Ikea last week (they used only to sell ivory ones) and lit them when the daylight started to fade. The effect was cheering indeed, especially as the etched stars create starry shadows on my painted dining table.  So I have decided to celebrate the coming months of dark afternoons by lighting candles every day and not only on special occasions. Who knows, perhaps I shall even write some of my new book about the garden at Monks House by candlelight?