Around this time last year, I was driving through a heavy snowstorm, making my way up to the Scottish Highlands. I had never driven in such heavy snow before, and it was 30 mph all the way up the motorway. It was totally enchanting to see the pine trees on the roadside laden with snow, and the big, fat snowflakes coming towards me at a furious rate.

Inverness, Scotland © BBC

This year I have spent the holiday season in Northland, New Zealand. And the contrast between the Northern Hemisphere in winter and the Southern Hemisphere in summer is so great that from the first moment I arrived in NZ, it felt like I had fallen down a rabbit hole to a parallel reality where time and the seasons are upside down. And where everything is brighter and more vivid – the blue skies are blue-er, the grass is greener and the clouds are whiter.

It looks like paradise (although it definitely is not.)

Kuaotunu beach, Coromandel

Kuaotunu beach

Kuaotunu beach

Matapouri beach, Northland

Goodbye 2016

I had an interesting 2016, with lots of ups and downs.

In 2016:

• Spent a few months exploring Scotland, including Stirling, Inverness, and Aviemore
• Saw my niece Isabella being born
• Struggled with depression resulting from Seasonal Affective Disorder and left the UK as a result
• Made some new friends and re-connected with some old ones in the UK
• Discovered a great way to travel, while getting to spend time with other peoples’ pets
• Brought on board two new assistants
• Decided to spend at least half of the year in future in New Zealand
• Cured chronic, year round misery-inducing allergies using the methods of Dr John Sarno (hallelujah! – I highly recommend his techniques for anyone with chronic pain or allergies)

This week I’m looking after this handsome chap

My Goal for 2017

I love it when a new year begins – it feels like a new, blank slate to work with.

I am not someone who normally sets goals with a specific time frame to them, knowing full well that if you want to make God laugh, you tell him your plans. But in spite of that, I intend 2017 to be the year I release the book I’ve been working on for the last few years. It is something that many of my clients and students have asked me to create and I am excited at the prospect of finishing and releasing it.

A very Happy New Year to all readers. I hope that 2017 will be a wonderful year for all of us.