I have had a nice gentle morning. I broke from the usual routine and sat had a coffee, and surfed the Net. I was particularly looking at photographic sites. I am feeling inspired to get out and take pictures and tell stories. I haven’t felt this relaxed at the start of a day for a long time.

There is a feeling I have been trying to recapture. I felt it once when I was a second lieutenant and then again in 2003 just after returning from Sabah. The feeling is a sense of being at one with myself and the world – not peace exactly, but a strong sense of self and my place in the world. It is a feeling of tranquillity in the midst of a raging storm.