I have a long held theory about when capitalism really took over the world and I date it as the year (unknown) when instead of a paper advent calendar with a wee picture of a star or a shepherd or an angel behind a door, I received one which had chocolates. These days if chocolate isn't indulgent enough for you, there is jam, or socks or perfume or mashed potato, whatever takes your fancy or suits your budget, however large, although I'm not sure anyone needs 24 luxury watches in a month....

As I write this there's just one month until the Winter Solstice and just over a week until the First Sunday in Advent which really begins the countdown to Christmas Day. Winter has finally hit us here this week with sub zero temperatures. It came as a bit of a surprise to me that if we wanted to run another wintery adventure then we needed to get a move on! There's no full blown advent calendar this year instead we're going to bring you weekly winter wonder to encourage you to connect...

This week I had the pleasure of attending a Bat Mitvah (coming of age) ceremony, which took place in a synagogue. During the service we were told that the date fell within the celebrations of Sukkot, a harvest festival in the Jewish calendar. We were invited to take part in the Kiddush meal after the service which was to take place partly in the sukkah, a tent-like structure that had been erected in the synagogue's outdoor space. The congregation were very welcoming to the friends of the...