We've all been ambushed by "unwanted journeys" (a cancer diagnosis, the sudden death of a loved one, a house fire) and have had to accept, and play, the cards we've been dealt.

The best present my partner and I ever gave each other sits right outside the front of our house. Two years ago at Christmas, we gifted each other a “little library” by hiring a friend to design and build it. As our handy friend finished painting it, she stencilled the name The Book Nook at the top.