Monday 28th September 2016

We woke up with the skies clear outside, and the thinnest of a sliver of moon suspended above the horizon in the south east. As dawn approached, the moon faded until if disappeared, but will return in a few days when it will be waxing again, showing us all how life and time goes on.

And so began another week of work, but for a change this week I am not traveling, with the aim at some point of tackling the pile of travel claims I have to complete, dating back to the beginning of October now. Oh dearie me. And as I need to have an eye test, I have to have the car to get into town, which means dropping Jools off at the railway station at seven fifteen, so she can catch the train to Sandling, and she has arranged for her boss to pick her up from there.

Stations always seem so cold, doubly so on a frosty November morning with no clouds to hold in warmth, the cold seems total, even if is just above freezing. It is the coldest morning of the season so far. I believe that.

The train arrives and Jools gets on, so I can go back for breakfast before having to make my way into town through the rush hour traffic to be at the opticians at nine. Traffic is crazy, and you have to allow at least half an hour to get the four miles into town, just in case traffic is stacked up. In the end, it wasn't, so I have half an hour to kill, so I dive into Costa for another coffee, my third of the morning, and hopefully something to read. But the shelves were bare, so I have to make do with drinking the coffee and munching on a giant Jammy Dodger, feeling like the real thing did when I was a nipper.

At just gone nine, I walk along the street to the shop, book myself in so some woman can blow air into my eyeballs. I'm sure there is a very good reason for this, but if there is, she aint telling. There are flashing lights, balloons to look at and electronic sight boards; And the upshot is my eyes are slightly worse, and I can wear glasses if I feel I need to, but recommended for driving. OK< will do. Would I like to buy a new pair of either glasses for driving or reading? Do I have to? No. Then I decline, thanks.

I walk back to the car, going via the Co-oP to pick up some crisps to put in my sandwich for lunch, which I think is rather a good idea. So good that soon after arriving home, and certainly not much after half ten, I am making pare sandwiches with a thick layer of crisps. A certain prince among sandwiches. Only bettered by the sustitution of jam for pate in my mind, and that of salt and vingar crisps for the beer ones I had bought. Small quibbles aside, I eat whilst reading the weekend mails and catching up on news.

I would love to have gone out for a walk, or done something outside so to make use of the fine sunshine which shone down unbroken outside. By the time I look up, the sun was setting, and really too late to go out. The cats remind me that despite it being only half three, it was very nearly dinner time, and so how about some kitty kibbles? I give in and feed them.

I am rewarded with Molly coming to lay down on my laptop keyboard and purr while I tickle her belly. Seems like a good exchange.

At quarter to five I get a call from Jools saying her train had not arrived, and there information screens were blank. I look online and find the information; it is running about 25 minutes late, and although I could go to collect her, it would take longer than that to get to the station, so she is happy to wait. At quarter to seven I am waiting outside the station again as her train rattles down from the mouth of Guston tunnel; she is the only one to get off, so once she had crossed the line via the subway and got in, we could go home and have dinner which I had prepared and half cooked.

Nothing beats chorizo hash, even if I did forget to add the paprika this time, so it wasn't spicy, but still good. Especially when we break open a bottle of fizz to have with dinner.