Or at least I will be when I finally lose my grip walking on the snow and ice. I don’t have great balance at the best of times but when there’s ice on the pavements I’m pretty much guaranteed to fall over. Last time was during the cold snap in December, within seconds of walking out the front door.

It’s been incredibly cold here and I still haven’t bought any gloves. The campus is looking lovely – all snowcapped hills, sugar-dusted trees and sheets of white over the grassy areas. At lunchtime yesterday, two of my colleagues built a family of snow persons. There hasn’t been a thaw and they’re still there today, albeit augmented with eyes, noses (one each) and buttons down their fronts.