9 February

I've been thinking about my mum a lot today, the anniversary of her death. There are no tears - she's been gone a long time and the shock has long since faded and been replaced with happy memories. She was a formidable woman, my mum, with a great sense of humour. She certainly had more than her fair share of troubles and heartache but she knew how to grasp pleasure and hang on to it. She was a strong, independent woman and I like to think I am, too. Thank you, Mum.

A lovely lazy Sunday. I cycled into town to see The Master, put on to mark the untimely passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman.. It was a fascinating film but I can't help but think that his best work lay ahead of him. RIP

I then went to FYUL (Food You Utterly Love) for a late lunch and took this photo. It seemed to epitomise a lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon.

I realise I've talked about death a bit today. The thing is, it's a fact of life. None of us are getting out of here alive so let's live it up while we're here. Here's one of my mum's favourite tunes to dance to and we played it at our wedding. Let's cut a rug!