As I sat on the bus at 7.37 on Monday morning - no small event in itself, I'm not an early riser if I can get away with it - I noticed a faint glow in the sky, catching the glass panels of the Shard in the distance. The sun, starting to rise. Earlier than yesterday, later than tomorrow.
I'm a massive fan of 21st December, the winter soltice. It heralds the arrival, in increments of a few minutes, of longer days, and shorter nights.
It comes without fail and without fanfare, bringing - albeit slowly - light into our darkness.
I've seen a lot of blogs with New Year resolutions - mostly about being more direct, more healthy, more honest and having less tolerance for bullshit. All of this is laudable, some of it profound, much of it entertaining.
But this year, after a fairly stressful 2011, with too much worry and insufficient money and the pain of loss among my extended family, I've decided to try and simplify.
Rather than make several resolutions which I may/may not keep, I thought I'd endeavour to be like the winter soltice instead.
Arriving quietly, mostly unobserved, and making things brighter and warmer.
