My housecats are intrigued by doors; not just the ones which lead to the world outside.

Wardrobe doors, cupboard doors, the elusive bedroom door. They touch them and stare at them, they open them to just ajar and stare wide eyed at the sights beyond, and sometimes when no-one is watching they slip through…

It is not just doors, an opportunity which could be a door, a portal, a route into another world, is equally as intriguing; loose skirting boards are prised off by curious paws and squeezed through into the dusty darkness within. Indeed, when I lived in Tenerife, they found a loose panel at the back of a wardrobe through which they would climb and nest amongst the clean linen.

We all grew up with Narnia, this idea of another world just beyond ours, a mere step through a wardrobe door away. Some place we never knew existed, of which we could go forever without knowing, if we hadn’t tried to test the boundaries of what we thought we knew were the edges of our world. A door where a wall should be. Stepping into the outside, into the unknown.

I feel a bit the same myself right now. I cannot see the outside world from within my flat. I can see a tiny bit of sky through my neighbours windows if I stand on my table. I can hear if it is raining, but it isn’t enough to know what is out there, what awaits me when I open the door and step through it.

Will it be safe? Will it be sunny or cold? Will I be the only person on the streets? Will the streets have changed? Will the world have changed? Will there be armed guards, will I be turned straight home, will I be hurt? Will I accidentally harm others through my own naivete? Is going outside, stepping through that door, still a gift, something to be feared?

The ice queen could pass by on her sleigh, or it could be time for father christmas, for all I know from being inside there could be lions and fauns waiting for me.

The world outside is so unknown right now. Every time we step through the door it is as if into our own Narnia; don’t forget your coat, and remember it is important to believe.