Next, I settled into some reading, finding I steamed through a few Conan Doyle stories as silence rung around me. This silence characterised the day, and despite going out to do a Reformer Pilates session and to go for a walk around the park where I encountered lots of people, I felt less harassed by the world, less like it demanded from me something I couldn’t give it, more like I existed in a bubble of calm away from the fray. By the evening though, the silence felt intense, nearly imposing, and I missed the sound of music sweeping through the house.