Winter seldom comes as a relief. But after the spring hose pipe ban that led, perhaps inevitably, to a summer and autumn of deluge and flood, this winter is indeed most welcome.

More importantly, there are a great many fruit and berry-eating birds around this winter. This is not because they had a great breeding season here – they didn't – but because a multitude has come over here from Scandinavia, where an even lousier spring produced even less for them.

And what are the best features of December weather? First and foremost, are the sunsets. Cold clear days will end with a blood-drained sun retreating slowly into a silent night of gathering frost, while grey days end with just a tint of pink in a lead-grey sky. Best of all are the days of stillness and quiet, which we seldom experience in summer – the embalmed stillness of midwinter air is something deeply wonderful, the world of nature seems truly asleep and at peace with itself.

Best of all, we have not had anything even remotely approximately to a summer since 2006. 2012 was a nightmare. We are seriously overdue. Surely, then, we can look forward to the new year with relish?