So I live in Cheltenham and if you mention Cheltenham to anyone anywhere in the world the town is synonymous with horseracing.
Being a rather opinionated person who is passionate about animal welfare, I always have the urge at this time of the year to start gobbing off about how cruel the Festival is and how horses will die for our entertainment.
This year I am taking a different tact. I am going silent instead. Not because I don't care any more. Privately I will still be feeling the same sadness, but publicly I will be conducting myself in a more measured way.
There's a lot in this world I don't agree with and working myself up into a frenzy on social media and getting into heated debates about it serves no purpose.
Cheltenham is the place to be for a great day at the races for the majority of people in the same way that Crufts is on right now and people will continue to breed dogs as I cry for the hundreds and thousands of unwanted pets that fill the rescue centres to the brim and are being euthanised in the pounds for no good reason.
I have my beliefs and I stand by them. And I will live my life true to them and with a clear conscience, and my art will be driven by them. So I intend to put all my time and energy into that rather than getting caught up in time-consuming arguments with people who I will always be at odds with and potentially offending those who don't think the same way as me.
Everyone is free to make their own choices about life and I respect that. But having an opinion and being passionate about it is life-affirming. And freedom of expression is everything, especially in art. And so #istandwithlineker
Usually I post my painting Jump in March. It is very special to me for many reasons and still hangs in our kitchen, colour co-ordinated with our breakfast bar stools, and always will.
But instead Wild Horses will be on my social media for the whole of next week, with no words or explanation, in tribute for the lives that will be lost and those that are lived freely and fully. And I will hold my tongue and you must come to your own conclusions.