Is winter going to end?  Bridie is off skiing, lucky her. For those of us left behind, I’ve put an easter display in the window but it all feels, well, very wintry.

Back in those dark days of January, we looked at some summer gardens to cheer ourselves up. So now, here is a view from my best friend Valentina’s house in Tuscany, La Casa di Cacchiano (available to hire, decorated – in part – by Ben P Ltd, pretty much booked out this year, book now for 2011) taken in balmy days last August…. roll on summer. Or at least spring time.

Back to London from a quiet, happy weekend in Suffolk, near the coast. Life in Dorset (or indeed in London) makes one forget those wide skies and soft blue grey, dove gray, olive green Suffolk palettes.  How fine to see wide skies and flint churches again. Here is a small snapshot of the great church at Blythburgh, and the Blyth estuary as the river rolls down to Southwold. Could the relationship between building and place be more finely attuned?

What is it about those French? A little while ago, Bridie and I had a lovely weekend in Paris, looking for inspiration. We found it in many places, but for me, nowhere more so than in the handsome shop signs that we encountered at every corner.

There’s Bridie, admiring the beautiful display at Paul Ollivary.

Today, I get the feeling that you’d have to go a long way to find such beautiful signs anywhere in London. In fact, to little old towns like Newmilns, in East Ayrshire, which I recently visited while I was working up in Scotland – where we’re doing a bit and rather exciting project in the architectural office.

Who wouldn’t want to have a shop sign like Ronald Bakers or A Todd & Co. In fact, Bridie and I are rather hoping to start taking in Dry Cleaning for Walton’s of Troon. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than having that yellow Gill Sans sign in our shop window.

We’ve been hard at work in the garden at the Old Parsonage… and last weekend it was time to bring in the muck! Ian and Denise, my lovely friends who run a local biodynamic farm, supplied the best manure you’ve ever seen, David from the village somehow got roped in to helping shovel shit, and here’s Liz (who will be helping me in the garden) kindly offering a helping hand and a wheelbarrow too.

Monica was behind the camera although I don’t think we made much of a fashion shoot.

Muck safely spread it was time for a big lunch in the kitchen, a beautifully cooked 5 year old silverside from Denise, pot roasted with biodynamic veg, and a nice bottle or two of red. I made my mum’s Queen of Puddings but we forgot (you will be glad to hear) to take a photo of that.

That evening, I think everyone was a bit knackered and early to bed. The following morning the valley was swathed in mist and a light drizzle. The rain stopped for a moment and here was the garden in the grey morning light – full of promise for the summer! Watch this space… surplus veg will be brought to London and there’ll be a basket for sale in the shop!

I am having some chairs reupholstered. These chairs cost me £10 each.  I don’t know about you, but I think there’s something a little wrong in the world when these two chairs cost £20 (okay, they needed new seats)… but I’m not complaining.

There are a few things I like about these photographs. The different quality of light; the changing views from the bathroom and bedroom windows at the Old Parsonage, but most of all, there is something quite good about an empty chair without its seat. Not a view we see very often (for obvious reasons) but a good one, I think.

The other day, I sliced a grapefruit in half for breakfast. Here it is. I don’t know about you, but I found something so pleasing about that grapefruit, sitting on that shell edge plate, on that particular cotton table cloth, that it was almost too good to eat.

Almost too good to eat. It was delicious.

Will you email me or Bridie with photos of your simple pleasures?