Wednesday 31st May 2017

I had at least been sensible the night before, eating in the hotel, just one beer, and even an early night due to being tired and shagged out after a particularly long squawk. Sorry, flight. I was awake with the larks again, or in this case, the seagulls who had nest on the roof of the hotel, and being on the top floor meant I had front row seats when they started calling at dawn, sometime after four. I did go back to sleep, but you know, seagulls.

I get up and have a shower, and look human if I didn't feel it. A colleague was downstairs having breakfast, so I join him and we both remark how long its been since we chatted; turns out he is a father again and said child nearly one. Time, eh?

THere is then the drive to the office, through streets one would hope would be quieter being Whit week, but that's not a holiday in DK, so it was slow going, drving to the main road out of the city past where the office is. Saying that the long held dream of one day being able to take the tram to work seems a long way off still with the lines and overhead wires done, but the stations are being buit still, so what is turning out to take even longer than the Edinburgh tram is continuing. Although, the tram signals are working, and change a second or two before the traffic lights, so those of us on the front row can be ready for the start when the lights go green.

I arrive at work and find that jobs that I had been told we have until the middle of June to do are now wanted yesterday, f not sooner, and why isn't it done? Er, holiday, boss? No good, get it done. So, that's the first job of the day, or at least one of the tasks. Second one gives me the chance to tick off all the last of the quality tasks on the project, create a PDF of it, and send it off as proof the job is done! Yay me.

And then there are meetings. Always meetings. Meetings to get in the way of work. THis is going to be nothing compared to tomorrow when a whole working day is to be given over to department meeting. A single department meeting. In a conference centre. With whiteboards, flipcharts, pens, and a regular supply of food and snacks. Today, there is even a meeting scheduled over lunch which means I am to therefore go hungry for the rest of the day, at least until the evening.

And then came my annual assessment. What can I say, I suppose as before having completed the only thing my boss can do is put me on another project, so I have that already. Could do some things better, of course. Other things we cannot change, we agree upon that, but maybe there is hope. Maybe not, we shall see. Nothing about a pay rise, mind, so we shall see. I think I am worth double, treble what I'm now on, but then I would.

I come out of the meeting to see the locals leaving, traffic would be crazy for two hours, so I get back to work until nearly 5 when there was no queue at the lights onto the main road back into the city.

Driving can be frantic in Denmark, with there being traffic lights and lanes for just cyclists, so care must be taken at junctions for those, and that when turning right, cyclists and pedestrians walking straight on have priority, so must be careful not to run anyone over. I don't and arrive back at the hotel to find the open air car park full, so venture into the vast underground one instead.

I am in a hurry as I am to meet with Shaggy, hi is in town taking his eldest daughter to look round the technical college where she is due to start studying in a few weeks. I wait for him in the bar, which is a good place as any.

He arrives, we share another beer then decide that two ex-armourers would like to have tapas for dinner. Tapas. What is the world coming too? Just down the hill is a small Spanish place, and there has dozens of free tables, and do a deal with eight tapas for a fixed price, including FRIED AUBERGINE!!! Not as good as mine of course, but drizzled with honey, wasn't bad.

Full up of tapas and fresh rolls with garlic spread, we wander down to the Highlander, where, to my dismay, I found I was full, and no matter how hard I tried could I get a pint down. This wan't helped with Shaggs buying me a bottle of dark porter as well, and I also failed to drink that all too.

It was dusk as I walked back to the hotel, bars were coming alive, and on the streets, bright young things were out and about en route to some happening hot spot for the night. At the music theatre beside the hotel, a production of Flashdance was underway, and in celebration the theatre had put up a disco glitterball in the lobby. Sadly, no one was dancing, and I shuffled by.