Fog

I had an appointment with my lovely dentist - expensive but necessary fillings - and it involved a sixty mile round trip, through some lovely Staffordshire and Derbyshire scenery.

At home it was sparkling and blue, but later it involved driving through dense fog and dramatic higher ground. I rather loved the skeletal trees and atmosphere.

In Ashbourne it was just dull and overcast. As I walked up from the car park, I was seriously alarmed at how many newly boarded up premises there were. 

Ashbourne is a wonderful market town with quite an affluent population and a thriving tourist trade. If card shops, banks, bookshops and fashion businesses can’t make ends meet here, it does underline and emphasise how challenging things can be.