Tuesday 22nd November 2016

It is Tuesday, at the end of November and I am in Denmark. The alarm went off at half six, I open the curtains to find it is still dark (of course) and is raining gently. Perfect, as it matches my mood. Not that there is anything wrong with the hotel, nor even work as I can meet with friends and get more work done by talking face to face rather than by mail. It’s the being away from home thing again.

So, I shower, get dressed and go down for breakfast. It is packed, but I find a table and so have the usual cereal with yoghurt and coffee followed by a small bacon roll. Danes always cook bacon until it is crispy, so shatters when you bite into the roll, as it should be. Belgians have limp bacon, not so good, which I why I have chocolate spread there.

From the hotel there is a short drive to the office, in what counts as rush hour in downtown Esbjerg, arriving at the office and securing one of the cherished seats at a desk in its own office, rather than the open plan project office.

During the day I go for a walk round the site, looking at the 38 erected towers, and nacelles lined up, ready for shipment. Blades are spread out over most of the site, 55m long, they take a lot of space.

I go out for dinner, to a place that does filled bagels. Gives me a chance to practice my Danish: a garlic bagel with chicken and bacon with curry sauce, tak: I ask. Thankfully, they speak English so I get my order and able to pay, so I can do the Brit thing of eating back at my desk, making a right mess over the keyboard.

I finish at five, drive back in the dark to the hotel, and listen to some music before the main event of the evening; a meal out with the guys from the quality team. And for me its just a walk over the road to Flammen,. Brian arrives early so we can have a drink and chat before the others get here, then walk over the road and shown to our table, where the Christmas special seems to be meat. No real change there.

I had arranged to mee my friend Steffen in the sports bar to watch the FCK game, but I was so full up with bbq that it took an hour to force one beer down, so bailed at half time, walking back through deserted streets to the hotel, where I could call Jools up, whilst watching the end of the game on TV.