Sheltering

"In the bleak midwinter,
Frosty wind made moan."

Day of horrendous gales and light snow showers. I passed these sheep on the way back from my exercise class in Ellon, huddled for shelter behind the bales. They were the lucky ones - other fields had no escape from the wind and the sheep just crowded together, with the ones on the outside bearing the brunt of the weather.

I always found this hymn depressing. We used to sing a hymn every morning at Assembly and while I'm not advocating a return to this, I do think singing every morning is a good start to the day. It gave us all a feel for the rhythm of the language.