Now I'm sure Peter Sellers would be on board here. The thing is - it seems to be getting more and more difficult to find darkness these days. Mind you there are three street lights in the village where I live and the one nearest our house has packed up, which has improved this little bit no end. Driving at night around here I often turn the lights off to more fully appreciate the landscape - hedgerow shadows produce a different view and lend a more gentle topography on a clear night. Walking at night is even more rewarding, the eyes soon become accustomed to reduced light levels and at this time of year a really hard frost on a moon-lit night needs to be felt, occasional relief offered as you pass through a wood or under a thick Hawthorn hedge. It is still possible to find dark backwaters but all too often our skyline is a-blaze with sodium glare. Much as I marvel at our fine churches (we are particularly blessed in this part of the world) I prefer to see them lit naturally by day and in their ghostly shade at night.
