I spend my days immersed in news, reading about the latest unsubstantiated deregulatory measures, another chip hacked out of the welfare state, the latest infringements on civil liberties. It's very difficult not to become weary and angry.
But I'm about a third of the way through my collection of Chasing Spring tapes and it's proving a balm to my cynicism. I'm rediscovering all the wonderful people we met, people who were universally kind and polite to us, happily offering their time, stories and hospitality.
There were the kind florists who we blundered into after they'd had an exhausting Mothers' Day. There were the slightly odd old ladies who insisted on introducing us to their friends. And there was the unpretentious wonder that is Todmorden, an ordinary Northern town that has become an extraordinary template for the future of food and business.
At a time when so many great things about this country are being systematically dismantled, it's heartening to feel that the people who really matter are still great.
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