Colours of Christmas

Dave Matthews plays heavily in the background. It's wintry outside, dark and wet and windy. A little oil, garlic and plenty of black muscles. The beat of Two Step presses down the hall. A splash of white wine, pepper. The weather put me in the mind of Christmas - Europe-style - and earlier I handed over a fiver for a green plastic tree, a few more bucks for some lights, some candles. A handful of picked, washed, chopped parsley; it's still very young, bright and tasty. Cherry tomatoes. Linguine alla vongole.

It sounds, look, smells like something so familiar, recreated. This wintry day, sheltered inside, with good music, good food and soft, coloured lights against the darkness, it could be Europe.