Monday 30th November 2020

Hey, hey, it's Monday again. People say we Monday around.

And so on.

Being a Monday, Jools was back to work for the first of her two working days, meaning I would left in the house, in charge of all I survey. If the cats let me.

The alarm goes off at five, I try to go back to sleep, but fail, so instead listen to the sounds of the house as it wakes up; water running in the pipes, the sound of the kettle boiling, the cat flap going. Then my body tells me that we have to get up.

So I do.

It is still dark outside, of course, and would be for nearly 90 minutes. Jools rushes around getting ready for work, while I surf the net seeing if the world had changed. And I have to say, that something have changed, and not for the worse. And yes I am talking about you, Donald.

At quarter to seven, Jools leaves the house, and I go up to do a session the cross trainer. I check the bolts and such, and in doing so find the left hand crank arm is looser than a loose thing. And no matter how tight I screw the nut on, it makes no difference. I climb on and get going, and soon am lost in my thoughts as the radio burbles away to itself.

I finish by quarter past seven, have time to go downstairs to make breakfast and a second coffee all so I can be ready to sit at the table and log on ready for the first meeting at half seven.

I do it with three minutes to spare.

We have the first half hour meeting, then jump straight into another auditors meetings, as auditors can't have enough meetings about audits apparently. That takes us to nine, and that gives me half an hour before I have to leave the house.

I had to go out to the surgery yesterday morning, so I took the quick way there, up and down Station Road before cutting through the village.

Not much change, even in lockdown, though playtime at the school, and the children's laughter and screams filled the air.

After picking up the pills, I was back through the village, then out along the Kingsdown road out into the countryside, along the top of the other side of The Dip. Just one cyclist passed me, me hearing the thrum of the tyre treads before he passed, so I could step to one side and not be mown down.

I turn down Norway Drove, with the Dip below me and Fleet House lost in the mist the other side.

At the bottom, the mud had dried enough so I could pick a path through the muddy pools before going up the final hill to Collingwood before turning for home.

Job done.

Along the final stretch I check the winter heliotropes at the junction with the small lane, and see at least half a dozen sweet smelling spikes showing above the green heart-shaped leaves. I resolve to return on the next sunny day to snap them.

I make do with a shot with the nifty fifty and walk back down the narrow path between the houses then along to home.

Dinner was the leftover corned beef hash mix, with I do cook as hash, frying it in butter in the frying pan and chopping the mix up until there was more golden crisp than soft mash.

I sprinkle with the resulting much with sea salt and frsh ground pepper and the result was stunning.

And back to work.

And I find no one had really missed me while I was away, so ready up on some documents and plan for more training courses in the new year.

The afternoon passes.

My achy legs suggest what with the workout that morning, and the walk to and from the quack's, walking back down and up the Dip meaning they convinced me not to do any afternoon phys. I have a shower instead and feel relaxed.

Dinner is to be pizza and beer. Pizza just shop-bought ones, but the beer was Belgium's finest, Chimay Grande Reserve.

And once Jools was home, I pop them in the oven and get the beer out of the fridge, not too chilled, and pop the cork which sounds like champagne.

Tastes better.

The pizzas come out of the oven, I plate them up after slicing and sample the 2020 vintage of the grande reserve. It was as good as expected.

And it was an evening of writing and football, as West Ham played Villa, I'm sure David Cameron didn't know which one to support. A fair game, with the Hammers win 2-1.

Next up: December.