Half of February was spent in Goa, in temperatures around 34 degrees, with nothing to do except relax, swim, eat, drink, shop – and repeat.

I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days there with the grandson before he flew home.

Then there was yoga by the pool and the boutique night market.

River views from The Lazy Goose after a wonderful lunch for ten.

A sightseeing day in Old Goa and at the spice plantation.

Agonda beach with cows at sunset and the bird (and monkey) trip that I missed out on last time.

Sunrise, a bird trip on the Mandovi river with egrets a-plenty and exotic kingfishers among the mangroves

The beach walk to the Chalston hotel and cocktails as the sun went down…

Local sights – Panjim, golden lions, a dog on a roof and Eddie the Egret (our new friend at the pool)

And just a small sample of the wonderful food – the thali at Corvo Rindo, Agonda, rosti in Calangute, shakshuka and meze at Goa’s Ark in Anjuna

Then it was back to Kent to surprisingly lovely weather. The snowdrops were out, the skies were blue and the temperature almost balmy.

A friend came to visit and we took in Deal, Margate and the Turner Contemporary (Cornelia Parker and Katie Paterson) and Goodnestone in brilliant sunshine, along with breakfast and lunch in the garden!

A trip to Ramsgate resulted in a photo of the harbour that was compared to the Mediterranean, such was the amazing light over the sea.

Lunching in the garden continued with a visit from the now one-year old Ellis who, we discovered, hated the feel of grass underfoot so could be happily parked on a blanket while we ate. He’s into everything now that he’s crawling, but a story still has the power to make him sit still!