It may seem rather odd to go away for a week at the beginning of January. The British, after all, take their Christmas and New Year break rather more seriously than they do in the US, and you might think we have had enough rest.

That is not unfair, but this is the last week of relative peace for a while. My first event is next week. Then it is time to prepare for Legaltech in New York – I am doing two panels there, fitting in as many video interviews as possible, having as few formal meetings as I can get away with, and doing lots of bumping into people in corridors, which is what I really go there for.

We used to come down here to the North Cornwall coast in the autumn, when schools have gone back, the roads are clear of Chelsea Tractors and prices are sensible. That was great, but it increasingly conflicted with the conference season and having to flog to Heathrow for yet another long-haul flight. Two of our boys work on the technical side of entertainment, and January is quiet for them; all three are here for part of this week.

You would expect January to be cold and damp down here, but we have seen some sunshine. The house is filled with cameras and tripods as we take the opportunity to test equipment, try out ideas and learn new tricks. We still kid ourselves that we will go off and see other parts of Cornwall, but we never do – why bother when the sea is at the bottom of the garden?

This is the view up the estuary from where we are, with some colour added to brighten up what was a fairly flat afternoon light. Back soon.

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