It’s been three months now (on the 27th). Have we missed Winch? Yes – a settled life, long awaited acquaintances nodding or waving, the familiarity born of 30 years living there, the watercress beds and the annual cycle of planting and cropping and the friendly nod from the workers and the chats with Penny; all were part of the equation we wrestled with over whether or not to move.

The shop? Yes – you don’t have that as part of your life for 25 years and find it easy to give up. The House? Yes – it was pretty perfect for us. We had space, room and a small piece of land that we loved. But all of the above had reached a personal sell-by date and something had to change.

So this Christmas has been different. No squeezed in shopping done by October, no shop buying ditto by the beginning of September to get the offer sorted. We have had time to shop, to mooch, to wander aimlessly, and to enjoy new locales. Of course we were also seeking retail intelligence, how busy is the High Street, is retail still following it’s charted change pattern, what is not moving in JL, and how Nicholls, our favourite stores are doing are things that were nagging us. Missing too were questions wondering where the shoppers were, too much or too little stock, where the Spring ranges were, and most importantly the adrenaline and excitement were missing as we toured the shops trying to pick up clues. Christmas eve is a Saturday – what difference will that make and how would we have coped?

We would have loved a CCTV feed from the shop windows watching the puzzled faces trying to take in the fact that the shop had closed. The second looks, the walking up and down, the trying the door, the staring above all, because if you stare long and hard enough, what you are seeking will appear. And today the men will be confused because they are on the annual pilgrimage, so we have a fresh round of disbelievers. Then on Tuesday we have yet another phase as the shoppers try to bring back things they never purchased.

I had the best Birthday in years, and we have thoroughly enjoyed the run up to today Christmas Eve. Complete strangers have chatted to us, and even me has laughed and joked with them. We have a different life, in a different place, in a different cottage, and with different experiences. We are more relaxed, more excited about the future, more  determined to Carpe Diem, and above all, we are happy. So if you are, thank you for reading this, and a happy Christmas to you and yours.