There were several lowlights during the week. My phone went on the blink and several heavy frosts finally arrived, followed immediately by Storm Goretti. On a positive note I finished my regular 5k Wexford Parkrun under thirty minutes. The last time I recorded that milestone was way back in 2014. Perhaps I'll treat myself? A new phone, did I hear you say?

I'm reminded of Victor Meldrew’s refrain from One Foot In The Grave: "I don't believe it. I just don't believe it." The incessant rain stopped two weeks ago and since then it has been dry almost every day. For the first time since mid-October the garden is not saturated, so I took advantage of the good conditions to get to the garden.

Short and very sharp this week. I've been busy with Christmas festivities, but I did find another five plus one for today's round of Six On Saturday. Most of this week's selection is about evergreen garden structure, which becomes very important in winter. Without further ado, here we go ... 1. Lamium maculatum Commonly called spotted dead-nettle, and very much alive, despite the name.

I don’t mind losing things. Secateurs disappear. The blue jumper with the hole in one elbow has vanished. But losing something I’ve written tightens a knot in my stomach in a way nothing else does. So I was delighted to find where I had kept “The Dark”, adapted from an RTE documentary in 2023, on one of my old blogs, and I want to use it again as we northerners celebrate Winter Solstice.

Another week of downpours and deluges. However, this time it was only every second day, with hard frosts and bright sunshine in between. The downpour days were double downpours and they did test my spirits, they did. In the middle of these testing deluges, news from Bondi Beach brought a sobering perspective. Seems a bit pointless to be getting upset over rain.