One of the little trade-offs I made with myself when buying the new toy was that I’d walk to work at least three times a week. I’ve been reasonably successful at this – the only problem being that if I want to get to work at 7:30am I have to leave home at 6:45am.

The upside is that I’m out and about at what must be the most beautiful time of day: and it’s mostly all to myself. Just a few runners, the occasional walking commuter, and best of all, very few cars. Like today (soundtrack: The Verve, Urban Hymns), a calm morning with a few streaks of pink and apricot lightening the sky. The best bit of the walk, as I think I’ve described earlier, is about halfway when the road turns and there’s a fantastic lookout over the harbour. This morning the sun hadn’t quite made it over the ranges to the east and the gentle sky light bathed the harbour, the reflections disturbed only by two cargo ships heading for port.

A Wellington without wind: who’d live anywhere else?

Of course there are one or two spots of urban blight on the way: the corner where all the neighbourhood dogs seem to want to have a dump is a bit of a minefield, and at one point in the journey there is a real risk of spotting Marian Hobbs in her dressing gown as she wanders to the road, a la Tony Soprano, to pick up her newspaper.

But hey! Just turn up the music, and keep walking.