Amid the stresses of moving in, unpacking and snagging it can be easy to temporarily lose sight of why you wanted to chase a more balanced life in the first place. So it has something of a relief to almost immediately get the first glimmers of the promised Good Life.

My top three so far have been –

1) The company of visiting friend and family around the dining table.

2) That moment on a rainy day when the sky suddenly clears, bright sunshine emerges and the solar thermal pumps click on generating free hot water.

3) Eating lunch, seeing movement in the garden, discovering that it’s one of the local deer paying you a visit.