New York State of Mind

I have always dreamed of going to New York and plan to do so in 2008 to celebrate both my 50th birthday (god, that sounds old!) and my son's 18th. In the meantime, I have a beautiful picture of New York in my kitchen, showing the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and Brooklyn Bridge, all lit up at night.

I get up at 5.45am every day to catch the train to Cambridge and eat a solitary breakfast with nothing but Radio 4 and my New York picture for company. I love the early morning light as it has a special, magical quality. Last week the sun suddenly came streaming through the kitchen window, literally lighting up the New York skyline.

I looked at my New York picture as I ate my breakfast and imagined I was there.

It put me in a good mood for the rest of the day.