Man and dog against the elements

They were better wrapped up that I was. Too many days with the heating turned up meant I'd lost touch with the outside temperature and high on Newport mountain the wind was brisk and chill.

Even worse was the saturated ground. It's absorbed all the water it can and the remainder sits on the surface waiting to seep into no-longer-waterproof boots. I'm desperate for change in the weather. What does the BBC forecast?

The story just doesn't change as we start the new year, with more bands of rain and swathes of strong winds looking set to sweep in from the Atlantic. At this stage it looks as if southwestern parts of the UK will again bear the brunt of the rainfall...