Christmas this year was very low key. No decorations, no tree and just the family squashed together onto a sofa and John curled up on the floor (who might as well have been wagging his tail). Christmas day started off with parkrun for John and I, which I’ve always wanted to do. I’m a keen parkrunner but have never done one on Christmas day before. The atmosphere was just swell. Everyone was friendly and it was a good way to prepare for a day of feasting. Where we used to live in Cheshire, you used to have to drive everywhere so it’s quite a treat to be able to walk into Oxford, around Port Meadow or hop on a bike.

My twin started a tradition in his first year of university in London of bringing friends back for Christmas. The guests we receive over the festive period are often from…