Tuesday 25th October 2016

At least with Belgian beer running at between 5 and 10%, there is no danger of not being able to sleep, but there is the wooly head effect in the mornings. The alarm goes off at half six, and I lay staring at the ceiling, waiting a few minutes before springing into action as my alter-ego QA Man.

Ager.

I put on my day-glo jacket of power, and I am set for whatever the forces of evil can throw at me. Downstairs there is breakfast; fruit and rolls with sprinkles. And coffee, strong sweet coffee.

There is the drive to work, in which tired, bloodshot eyes scan the road for errant cyclists and pedestrians, as my brain tries to coordinate movement of my hands and feet in getting us to the office in one piece. Good news is that I make it, and find a parking space. I have now claimed the spare office as mine, so after setting up I search for more coffee.

We are now at the stage where everything is real. In fact the clarity is like super HD TV it so clear. So, the day is a wait for the next tranche of mails, dealing with the issues or batting them back.

Morning passes, lunch comes and goes. Then there is the afternoon, and meetings and the spreadsheet of joy. One day I will tell you about the spreadsheet of joy, but for now all you need to know that there is one, and it is filled with joy.

After half an hour of headscratching, it is time to go back to the hotel, have a shower and get ready for the evening's activity, as it is one of my minion's birthday.

But I need a walk too. Two days in the office is killing me, so I grab the camera and walk out of the hotel, fllowing the tram tracks alongside the shopping area, down to the harbour to snap the serene scene, before walking back up through a residential area made of tall buildings, from different decades and styles, cheek by jowl. It shouldn't do, but does work ,and is pleasing on the eye.

I cross the road with the bars, heading up onto the promenade where the sun is setting low in the west. There are few other people about, but i snap the prom, the beach, people and the sunset. Until the sun is hidden by low cloud, and the whole scene is pastel shaded, and looks a pretty as a picture.

At the hotel, with half an hour before the meal, I meet a colleague who is sitting outside sipping a beer. It would be rude not to join him, so I get one myself, then he offers to buy me another. It would also be rude to refuse such a kind offer. And so I lost time for a shower, and go upstairs to drop the camera off before going outside to wait for the team to arrive so we could walk to Den Artist for dinner.

A table for 11 had been booked, and we filled it, ordered good food and beer, had good talk and many laughs. I have steak and fries and mayo and more La Chouffe. Its too easy to have La Chouffe, as everywhere sells it, at least its in small bottles I suppose.

It does mean a wander back to the hotel, then a shower, and lay in bed watching Twitter updates as Norwich end up losing to Dirty Leeds in the League cup, but i was long asleep by that point, and would not find the result until the morning.