We discovered Honest Chocolate. It is truly the best and has caused an uptick in our consumption of Cointreau, which, as I’m sure you will agree, is the ultimate companion to a quality craft chocolate.

We were amused to find that on the segments of each slab are the letters D O N T B E A F R A I D O F T H E D A R K.

This is a constant reminder of something that we struggle with when we are sketching. Beginners, like us, painstakingly draw their subject, shade it in, feel quite proud and, despite being told over and over again to deepen the darker areas, tend to be too scared of spoiling their efforts and end up with a flat result that has little depth.

So I keep telling myself “Derek – DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK!”