Friday 2nd December 2016

The clouds rolled in the evening before, and were still with us on Friday morning, meaning day took a long time to arrive. I looked out of the back of the house, and saw the lights from Calais reflected in the low cloud, even from here! It felt like winter, and with the stiff breeze outside cold enough to be it too.

It is a typical working day: Jools has to get ready for work, she also feeds the cats and makes coffee. I have to say, being home for a week, even with work, feels like a holiday, and having the cats fawn over me, even if it is cupboard love, has been rather wonderful. But with time running out, I needed to chase up details for the trip next week to Oostende. I'll send more mails during the day!

Time for more coffee and breakfast, then it is work. On the radio, 6 Music are "pretending" its 1989, so it is wall to wall nostalgia, and hard not to stay tuned to, even if there is work to do.

There is music all the time, at various points I find myself dancing to some long-forgotten tune or another: Baby Ford or Betty Boo and lots and lots of Acid and Chicago House. This is the stuff. But shouldn't you be working, Ian? Oh yeah.

There is lunch to have; pate and crisp sandwiches, I forgot the promise to myself to have jam. THere'll be other times I suppose.

One last try of the new system for travel costs, AX, which should be easier than SAP, but seems not. Been eight weeks now and still not working right, which means I will have to put a 9th week of travel on the old credit card.

Means I can finish at three for the day, turn the radio up and dance to The Shamen and S Express. Just like those Friday nights at Tuttles. Here is the evidence:

Radcliffe and Maconie gives way to Steve Lamaq, the chunes keep on coming.

During the day I made chili. I found a lump of ground beef, defrosted it, then browned it off, added some sweated onions, then added some beer, beans, tomatoes and spices. All I need to do now is bring to the boil and then simmer for several hours. Thing is, the chili goes on forever. Two generous platefuls for us, filled all our tubs for freezing, then we start filling freezer bags. And still there is a pint of chili left. We'll just have to have jacket spuds on Saturday. With chili. Lots of chili.

There is cup football on TV later. So I watch it with the sound down, just as well with the inane chat that comes with any televised sport these days.

As I am going up the stairs for the final time, I look outside and see a handsome fix, munching away on peanuts and sunflower seeds. I was then about to toss three fat balls out for the nocturnal feeders, but could not do this until he had finished. He carried on eating for five, ten, fifteen minutes, and would have probably still be there had i not moved to the window. He moved off, I threw the fat balls out, and was able to go to bed.