1. The magical moment when the colours appear.

1b. I’ve been worried about how to glaze my bowls but it turns out my hand is forced: I glaze the insides and leave the outsides to the reduction, aside from a few accidental/deliberate spatters for interest. I love how they turn out.

1c. There is a thorn in my heel as I walk back from the bakery – each step is agony. Afterwards, after I remove it, there is a pleasant echo of the pain whenever I put my weight on it – pleasant because it’s a relief that’s all there is.

1d. I turn the bowls to make curves and feet. The clay peels off in curls.

1e. My favourite Minoan bull cracks before I get any good photos of it but, like with the cracked bird feeder, it’s fantastic to be able to look inside: to see how far the carbon penetrates the clay body.

2. ‘Summertime’ (not the Gershwin one) is on the radio. It hasn’t dated as much as I would have thought for a song from a) 1991, b) by people called DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. (The song has aged better than their names, that’s for sure.)

3. My pillow is a wonderful place. Why did I not visit it sooner?