It only occurred to me this morning, as I dragged myself out of bed, that it’s roughly a year since I started working for myself. Miraculously, I’m still here and solvent.

It’s certainly brought a refreshing unpredictability to my life. For example, last Saturday I was at a girls school in Nottingham, playing the piano for ballet exam rehearsals. No sooner had I wound up there but it was off to wildest Wales, Powys to be precise, for another gig with my friends in the Fairplay function band.

As usual, we rocked (pity the weather didn’t!), but we didn’t get off stage until about one in the morning and by the time I got home to Weston Coyney it was close on 4am. That left me about three hours’ sleep before I had to roll out of bed again and slam down the A50 to Nottingham again for the actual ballet exams. All rounded off nicely by nearly falling asleep at the organ during evensong!