Ice on the windscreen this morning, could it signal the start of a colder period of weather? I really enjoy waking up and looking out on a frost covered garden - better still if it's snow. Sadly in Bristol we are blessed with an extremely mild and temperate climate. What a shame.

Nothing quite beats the fun of adding layer upon layer of clothing, before opening the door and plunging into the icy blast. Part of the fun is definitely the dressing up, I must admit to being a bit of a coat junkie and the colder weather is the perfect opportunity to indulge the habit. I've got a couple of overcoats with varying levels of density. My favourite option though is the classic American hunting jacket which I picked up in a Greenwich Village 2nd hand store back in the early 90's.

It weighs about the same as Orynthia and I put together, so it has to be really cold to justify the strain on the shoulders. Should the temperature drop to the required level, this beast of a coat comes into it's own. It comes with a multitude of pockets, including one which appears to around the whole back of the jacket, and is accessible from both hips. At first Orynthia used to joke that it was a hugging pocket, indeed if the huggers arms are long enough to work around those extra layers which have to added to my normally svelte body it would be a lovely thing. Sadly Orynthia's arms proved to little on the short side for a full blooded hug, especially whilst wearing her extra thick winter coat. Then someone told us that lovely voluminous pocket was actually a place for the hunter to keep his catch for the day! Suddenly Orynthia was not so keen to hug me anyway!

I'm at about the halfway point in Kafka On The Shore, the latest Haruki Murakami and it's the proceeding along very nicely. As is often the way with Murakami (and an increasing number of novelists these days) we are lead through the novel by a dual narrative, as we hear the story of two seemingly unconnected people. Inevitably their paths are starting to cross, as they do more questions arise. Some of these issues may get resolved, but Murakami normally likes to leave a few threads hanging in the breeze.