Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens ... →[More:]What are your favourite things?

Mine are:

1. Teddy Edward. He's a stuffed Chad Valley bear and was my Christmas present when I was four years old. He's been with me through thick and thin, and is a little threadbare now (maybe I should change his name to Fred Bear).

2. I love glass, and a few years ago I was helping out a friend at a craft fair. The guy opposite sold stained glass objects, mostly kalaidoscopes, but he had this lamp he'd made. He wanted £75 for it, but as he was packing up to go home with it unsold, he let me have it for £60 (about $100). I call it my sobriety lamp because when I was drinking (a) I would never have spent £60 on something that I couldn't drink, unless I was drunk at the time and bought it in some grandiose gesture and (b) if I had bought it when I was drunk, it would've been smashed within days because I used to fall over a lot and knock things flying.

3. My bird table. I like to watch the birds and squirrels feeding. I love critters.

4. The awesomeness of a beautiful skyscape always amazes me. Sunrise, sunset, city lights, stars, clouds, whatever. Reminds me I'm just a little speck in the big dustbowl.

5. Live music. There's something about the energy of a live performance that can't be replicated in recordings. Best life performer I've seen in the last year? Dave Alvin, without a doubt.

These are a few of my favourite things.