The northern winter still has a way to run, but already there are signs of hope. The days are lengthening, the daffodils have poked their heads above the ground and you can once again have a lane to yourself in the swimming pool.

The new year’s resolution crowd has abandoned the health clubs. They arrive as the year begins and soon go. We will not see them until September, when they return filled with a post-holiday determination to slim down and tone up, before disappearing again a fortnight later.