As I finally sit down on the bed in the spare room to write this month’s diary, characteristically last minute, I can barely keep my eyes open.

It’s been another one of those months when very little clay has made it on to the wheel-head, while all around us, chaos abounds. There have been frustrations, but also tremendous progress in the weeks since I last wrote, albeit not much in clay itself.

I’ve been in the workshop since six this morning and have just finished for the day at nearly eleven pm. My sleeping pattern isn’t great at the moment. There’s a lot on my mind, some of it is worries about loved ones, the state of the world and all that stuff, then other, more positive stuff, as we gradually get the workshop space sorted out how we want it and that keeps me awake too.

I blame my difficulty