West Wycombe, Bucks.

Snow not forecast here till the 21st.

They were wrong. Have just been woken by excruciating pruritis in the sole of my left foot, which is almost always a sign of precipitation, and sure enough we have a slight sprinkling. But don't come rushing down here YET.

We've had a sprinkling here too, but the last time (4 years ago) we did, and I came rushing up to Oxford, there was barely a trace beyond Reading. In a perfect life there'll be snow on Christmas Eve when I'm planning to come to Oxford regardless.

I get pruritis on my shins and (as now) my forearm. It's murder, but oddly, apart from the skin feeling dry, there are no visible signs of irritation. Try aqueous cream, big tubs of which are sold in pharmacies and supermarkets. At least, less than 3 weeks after the cryotherapy, most of the keratoses on my face have disappeared and I no longer need to wear the Mr Bean mask.

My latest health crisis has been episodes of heart palpitations with no obvious cause and unrelated to exertion. With my family history of cardiac disease, worrying. But I heard from someone who'd had something similar (and his ECG showed no abnormalities) that there's a virus going round that can cause this.

When I say pruritis, I don't mean eczema (which I get too), but one of my MS symptoms: an intense neurological itch, not associated with any rash and probably coming from my pons. It occurs intermittently in any one of my four extremities and lasts up to thirty minutes at a time. It's bearable in my hand, but quite excruciating in the sole of my foot, waking me from sleep and causing me to cry out with each burst.

My GP gave me Phorpain gel for my wonky foot (no connection) and it hasn't helped that at all, but surprisingly does give me some relief from the pruritis. If I rub it on the sole as soon as the attack starts, it seems to stop it from going on too long.

Anyway, this is all part of my cerebral weather centre and a pretty reliable indicator of rain or similar. Yesterday I was getting a lot of snowy feelings, which is what prompted me to check the online forecast before going late to bed, and then I was woken three hours later by the dreaded tickle.

I'm glad your keratoses are healing. Did you actually get a Mr Bean mask then?

Regarding your heart, you might be helped by CoQ10, which is a natural enzyme that we can become deficient in as we grow older. I was having a scary arrhythmia last year, frequently missing beats and then restarting with a jolt. But this quickly resolved with the CoQ10, which I now take every day.

Well, well. I thought the cause of my itch might (because it suddenly comes - usually at bedtime - and goes and there's no rash, and scratching doesn't help) might be neurological.

For future reference I've taken note of CoQ10, but I've had no palpitations to speak of for the last 2-3 days and am glad I didn't go rushing off to the doctor. But if they come back I'd better do so.

Let's be realistic about the chances of getting any real snow, but I did at least (yesterday, quite unexpectedly) get a white frost shot which will serve as my 2022 Christmas card. Is it better with or without the figures?

Neuropathic itching:
www.verywellhealth.com/the-neuroscience-of-itch-2488868

It might be worth taking CoQ10 as a preventative, as deficiency can be associated with heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's. I found that my heart arrhythmia came back when I stopped it for a couple of weeks.

I don't know what you mean by "the figures", as I can't see any. After much D-liberation, I've decided to fave this shot, as I like the feel of it, though I would have preferred a landscape with slightly less sky.

Aha. Perhaps (I should have googled this myself) in my case it's just common-or-garden itchy shins caused by dry skin which (it says) doesn't come with a rash and isn't helped by scratching, and is best treated with lotion. Sorry that, as you imply, your foot is still wonky.

The figures are in this picture:
also taken yesterday, which (with or without them) I'm going to use for my Christmas cards.

Oh gosh, no, the top one is MUCH better and might be enhanced by a nice frame.

The above is rather dingy (I suspect you may have used one of your special effects) and
not something I would like to receive as a Christmas card. The figures add nothing at all.

It was taken early on a misty December morning. With no special effects at all it would be even dingier. The top picture was taken later, after the mist had cleared, but is unsuitable as a card picture because there's too much detail where the wording needs to go. The figures add a touch of colour where needed but will be omitted on the card version.

If you took the posts out, you could have the wording across the hedge.
Or you could put a large white border round it and have the wording off picture below.

The second picture is far too Dismal for a Christmas card.

Thank you for the Christmas card, which looks very seasonal and cheerful, enhanced by the red itallic script top and bottom, not in any way detracting from the picture (apart from requiring one post removal). I wish you a Merry Christmas too, wherever you may be, and hope that no-one serves you hot and cold together, soggy breakfast or too much gravy.

Little risk of the latter (if my memory for detail were as good as yours, perhaps I'd have achieved more in life) because I'll be home over Christmas, and the only meal I'll be served will be Christmas dinner at a relative's, with no gravy. The problem will be (and exacerbated because there'll be 12 others) that it won't be hot. The stupidest rule of table manners IMHO is the one that dictates that at every course, no one may start until everyone's been served, meaning that all but the last to be served eats his "hot" food lukewarm, tepid or stone cold.

Christmas Eve in Oxford is TBC. All the white has gone now, and temperatures have returned to muggy normal. Not Christmassy, but at least we can all now sit indoors without shivering beneath 7 layers of clothing with an icy draft round our ankles.