Very happy and extremely tired when we finally got home from the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace at around midnight on Sunday. All the sales at shows this year have been down but this one was way up and a record!

All the exhibitors we talked to had the same experience so that is very cheering for the industry.

Down on the farm, there are berries everywhere, gleaming scarlet hips and haws, brooding black sloes and of course holly. I think the birds have already taken all the elderberries and the squirrels the hazelnuts.

Possibly time to make sloe gin as all three sons will be at home this week including my youngest son Joshua who has arrived from Canada for a week. It is the first time I have seen him since February 2019. It feels as if there was a big hole in one’s life over lockdown.

The alpacas are all looking good with just the right amount of fleece to look smart. These are some pictures of our youngest nursery field with most of the cria here around three months old. They do give you some funny looks.