Before moving into the next season, I like to reminisce over the best of the season just gone with this memory bank. You can do this at the end of Summer, or remember to add to it as you go through the season. It gives you something to look back on in the cold, dark months ahead. You can make your jar look pretty, but you don’t have to.

This is not just a fun and simple way to preserve memories – recording the small moments you might forget in the hubbub of day-to-day life – there is actually positive brain science behind it. Ronnie, my NHS therapist, was a compassionate man but not a sentimental one (I thought), so I was surprised when he suggested noting memories in this way. Less romantically, he called it ‘positive data logging’. By recording small moments when you feel happy and free, you store up a bank of good things you can revisit on darker days: a reminder that there is light in the world. I know that sometimes even this joy can be hard to find. I have been there, trust me, and if you’re there right now, I am sending you the biggest hug and oodles of understanding. You are not the only one. Ronnie, this one’s for you.

You will need
Pieces of coloured paper, cut into strips
Pretty pens, for writing
1-litre Kilner jar
Polaroids or other printed photographs (small snapshots are good, you can write on the back of them)
Anything else that evokes a happy memory (optional)

This is a fun activity to do with your family or the special people in your life, or you could do it on your own.

Write a fun Summer memory on a small strip of paper. Focus on a small thing rather than a big thing, so rather than ‘Our holiday to Disneyland’ (I wish!), break it down to ‘the moment I found out we were going on holiday’ or ‘the feeling of my own bed when I got home from holiday’ (you can tell everything you need to know about me from that last one).

Write the date – and your name on the back if you’re sharing – and put it into the jar, along with a photo, if you have one – or you could write the memory on the back.

Keep going until you fill up the jar – adding anything else that evokes a happy memory, if you like. You will be surprised how quickly it fills, focusing on the wee things rather than the big ones.

Tip
If you are struggling to find the joy, then I urge you to try making your own. Get up five minutes early to make time for a cup of tea in your favourite mug. Set aside time to make one of the crafts in this book. Treat yourself to your favourite chocolate bar. Read for a while. Banish your phone before bedtime.

Slow Seasons: A Creative Guide to Reconnecting with Nature the Celtic Way is published by Bloomsbury (£16.99).