Richard Hogan: Hot take — turning 50 isn't so bad when it's with family and friends in West Cork

It was one of those days in West Cork where the weather is remarkable. It was 4.30pm when we started the sauna. When we got into the water the sky was the most remarkable colour. The water was freezing, but every time you went back and did the sauna for 15 minutes the water became warmer for some inexplicable reason

Richard Hogan and his wife Erica with their friends the Tuohys and the Harts at the Warren, West Cork

Last month I turned 50. That’s a harder sentence to write than I expected.

My wife was trying to get me to have a party. I have never been a fan of my birthday. Another year older, and all that.