Long free of school and undergraduate calendars and family holidays I no longer feel that holidays associated with July/August or December and April make these ‘favoured’ months; rather I’m swayed by the weather and what it brings. This, living in southern England is variable as jet-streams throw weather patterns in off the Atlantic, pull in warmth from Northern Africa or bitter cold from Scandinavia and Siberia – and I like that.

I enjoy sunshine and warmth, up to a point – droughts become threatening and bore to the landscape. I love when a storm blows in and we have a day or so of rain. I don’t like relentless flat, low grey cloud. Snow and frost are both rare – but a dream. Last year we had a bit of frost and snow in the second week of December; some years we may wait until April.

Change in the woods I love means I have favourite seasons – fall for the perfect days when enough trees have colour on them and there is a mosaic of browns, reds, yellows and oranges on the ground. This suggests November as a favourite month.

Spring creeps ever earlier in the year and can burst upon us or evolve over weeks – enough verdant green in the canopy and by then fading bluebells on the ground is a favourite time. This would suggest late March or early April.

I’m less excited about the winter months – unless it snows; less excited about summer which can settle into a dull sameness.

But what about events? Family birthdays in June. Christmas of course. The carnival mayhem of 5th November given that I live on Lewes, East Sussex.

And the promise of the new academic year and my birthday – September.

I rather think I can find something wonderful any month of the year.