Whilst others go on gorgeous cross-country walks, find fat catkins and sew fine seams my life is dominated by the massy figure of A-till-a the Hun and enough cardboard boxes to build a life-sized model of the Pyramid of Giza.

When I did emerge briefly at the weekend I noticed that there are a few shy snowdrops peeking out through the real snow still lying stubbornly in the back garden.

At the end of my Reginald Hill horde (supposed to be saved for my journey south) I was glad to be loaned 'The Crystal skull' by Manda Scott. I expected something badly written, sketchy characters, overly dramatic and cavalier with the facts like the 'Da Vinci Code' so wasn't much looking forward to it but it's a much more carefully written book, better paced with some quite elegant style, four dimensional characterisation and atmosphere. Don't know about the facts but I'm enjoying it anyway.