After the gales and rain of yesterday it was a relief to see the sun shining for much of the day with hardly any wind although it was very cold.  Our road was shiny with ice and it was very hard not to slip as we walked along “the top road” where the sun had no chance to melt the ice but the leaves looked pretty with their patterns in the frost.  According to the forecast for the next few days it seems likely that it will be easier walking on frozen muddy paths rather than the country roads and as I write the velux windows are coated in frost and the grass is sparkling with thick frost.