When I was young, I really, really didn’t like school. And few things put hell into me more than hearing some well meaning adult say that schooldays were the happiest days of one’s life. They weren’t – not for me, not for Mr Penry, and not for our children, by and large, either.

The only thing I really enjoyed about school was the learning. I really did like finding out things – and I still do. In fact, the more I learn, the more I realise how much I didn’t know in the first place. My father always said this was the true essence of education; only the ignorant think they know it all already.

Of course, school isn’t the only place where we learn things. Life teaches us a great deal. So does falling in love – for better or worse! My father had an excellent library of occult books which I found fascinating; some had previously belong to a defrocked priest. And I have been buying books on virtually any subject that interests me ever since I first had pocket money. Sometimes I have to find new homes for them (danger signs are when they are piled up on the floor in front of the bookcases) and then it’s like saying goodbye to an old friend. But it has to be done otherwise I’d go mad. I’ve always promised myself that if I ever win the lottery I will have a house with its own library!

It’s raining here today. So no gardening for the moment. On the other hand, the garden gets thirsty, so I can’t begrudge it. And Nature is still doing her gardening, regardless of the weather. If it eases off later I’ll pop out for a few minutes and see what’s been going on.

Meanwhile, I’ve always got plenty of books to read….