Tuesday 19th December 2017

Two working days left.

I don't know why, but I feel I need the break over Christmas and New Year. I can't remember being so worn out at any other point in my time with this company. A period where we just stop doing anything, stop thinking about anything except ourselves. Each day brings more tasks that need to be complete before Wednesday evening, and I feel the only way to get stuff done is actually not to log onto Outlook until I have completed the most pressing task.

Again it is a glorious morning, the approaching sunrise causing the sky to turn red and orange, the the contrails make drawings on the clouds. I take pictures.

Jools is up and about before Scully and me, and the sweetheart is making coffee too. I wake up when the pot begins to bubble and percolate. And I am up, stumbling down the stairs to find a cup of coffee waiting for me. Bless.

Jools is a blur of action as she gets ready for work, and I just sit at the table, checking the world on the computer.

As I said, once I start work, I power up the laptop and don't sign in, instead spend three or so hours going through the spreadsheet, line by line. Its a thankless task, but one that has to be done.

Molly sleeps beside my laptop on the table, something she does each day now, purring away gently. But at 11, I am done, and so the proper work of the day can start.

I have to post Mum's Christmas card. Since the privatisation of the Post Office, the price of posting cards is so expensive, and in order to get the right stamp and not make the recipient pay a penalty, best go in get it weighed and measured. Being in works time, there is also a bundle of travel expense reports to send in, so many they don't fit in one of our envelopes, so I will have to buy one there.

Anyway,it is a nice day, may as well take a bit longer, go for a walk, take some shots and hopefully break the twinge of sciatica I have been suffering with.

On with the boots, coat and Razorback's hat, and into the cold crisp day, walking out along the road then over the fields to Fleet House, passing by the landmarks you know so well. Another golden winter day with almost unbroken sunshine, it was cold for sure, but a pleasure stomping over the frozen mud over the fields and down to the top of the dip.

Horses in warm jackets looked at me sadly as I walked by with nothing to give them to eat.

The bottom of the dip was frozen, making the walk through the mud easy at least. A hard slog up the other side to the road, then back into the village, past the crap parkers who abandon their cars on the pavement so pedestrians have to walk in the road.

I return home laden with salt and vinegar crisps and a Battenburg Cake. Party time!

Walking back from the village, my back is fine, pain gone, so I can tackle the final assault on Station Road leading to our street without pausing, huffing and puffing past the house at the end of the street. I pause to look for signs of daffodils, as two years back they were in flower on Christmas Eve; not this year, they are weeks away, and just green shoots sticking out of the ground.

Back home I make lunch; apricot jam sandwiches with salt and vinegar crisps in. A sandwich of champions, and in the afternoon there would be battenburg cake too. Just like being at my 7th birthday party. But with more e mails. Obviously.

And there is more work. More phone calls. More e mails. More coordination.

But the day comes to an end, and I feel like I'm in control more. Which is nice.

Instead of party food, I make chorizo hash, the first time for over a week, and we have a new chorizo, with sherry! and so in order to sample the flavours better, I try to use less paprika, and its not too bad Great in fact.

We have Huey on the radio until 7, he's sitting in for Steve Lamaqc, so plenty of kitchen dancing going on, and then Marc Riley plays cool tunes too, we open a box of Roses to have with the evening coffee, a present from one of Jools' suppliers. And very welcome the chocolate is.

And we are done: Jools has the new Ken Follett book to read, so she sits on the sofa with Scully. And the evening passes quietly.