Winter is starting to settle in, now that the clocks have gone back and days are shorter. We’ve had mostly bright blue-sky days of late, which is heartening. At this time of year, I’m always trying to hold on to the warmer, brighter weather, in whatever way I can. I try to smell every garden rose I see, ignoring the faint scent of decay that is beginning to creep in, breathing in every particle of fragrance that still lingers in the cold petals. Honeysuckle, one of my favourite flowers since I was a child (mainly because it tastes so good!) is still blooming in a park I pass on my way to work, and each day I pluck a flower. The flowers are, amazingly to me, still sweet.

Last night we went to a local Italian restaurant to celebrate the poet’s mother’s 84^th birthday. She’s the only person I know who will seriously admonish anyone who buys her a gift.

Tonight I’m completing a week of fairly arty social outings – the private view, Rilke reading – with the Perdika Press launch. Perdika was created by a couple of the poet’s literary friends, and the poet, as an independent small poetry press to publish quality poetry. The launch tonight is at Salisbury House in Enfield, a short bus ride from our house. I hope there’s a good turnout, and they sell plenty of books, or rather, pamphlets, which are shorter than books and less expensively produced. But most of all, I hope it lives up to the other events this week and has free wine! When we visited the real Perdika, last year on the Greek island of Aegina, the wine was particularly special.

Oh (she says, prompted by Google's logo), looks like I forgot it was Remembrance Day today. At 11am this morning I was at the hairdresser. I want to say something like 'oops' but what is there that doesn't sound flip and disrespectful?