SOOTHE – Healing nature walks & green apple tea. Finding your tribe. Orange drizzle cake & overnight baguettes. Homes for pets, nestboxes and where writers lived. Why we love a long bath. Paper flowers. Rhubarb & ricotta toast. A wood in winter

Some days you have to create your own sunshine. And that’s the key to not merely surviving in winter but thriving. Looking after yourself comes first, so do things that soothe you; bake bread, hang a nestbox, walk in the woods or put flowers in a vase. The weekends matter more at this dark time of year – use them wisely. Visiting the home of a literary hero or having friends for lunch can transform a gloomy Saturday afternoon. And there’s your sunshine, see?