The snow has melted from the tops of the mountains and, as I write, I’m looking out over Highland landscapes as they’re turning more and more green. It’s pretty nice to be welcoming some warmth after a long winter, although I’m less enamoured with the return of the midgies.

A hard frost has set in across the hills, mist rolls through the glens, the fire rages beside me, and from the far north I hear stories of knee-deep snow.