Christ Church, one of the colleges of Oxford University, attracts Harry Potter fans from all over the world. When I teach English to teenagers, the dining hall is second only to Bicester Village Shopping Outlet on their must-visit list. I hardly ever use my privilege, granted to local residents, to go in but had an amble there this afternoon.

In the Hall I counted 69 portraits of eminent people. Two of them are women: Queen Elizabeth I and, added last year, Professor Judith Pallot who, in 1979, became Christ Church's first female fellow. I don't suppose any other women have done anything interesting or significant at Christ Church in the intervening 39 years. And of course no black person has.

In extras, the bowler-hatted Guardian of the Christmas Tree. I might have made that title up but you can never be sure.

It appealed to me that the winter solstice today, on December 21, was at 22:23.

More light from here on!