A perfecting process ...

Well, that's what it says on one of my birthday cards. Not an ageing process, but a perfecting process. I like that. I also liked my day - a birthday spent doing ordinary things and enjoying them, with the addition of a wonderful crop of presents, cards and online greetings. Some of them are in this photo - books and boots, mainly - and some elsewhere, including some very well chosen items of clothing. I'm grateful for the thought and care that went into all these things, and for the relationships that they signify.

And the day? Well, I didn't have to go to serve on a jury as I feared, though that may yet catch up on me; I had a lazy sort of morning that ended with a vigorous hike above the Bishop's Glen and a late lunch accompanied by a great glass of red. And in the evening I was singing - including our first complete sing-through of Rachmaninov's Bogoroditse Dyevo, something I've longed to sing for years.

Now, how old did you say I was ...?