Tuesday 9th February 2021

The shit is getting real.

More and more meetings, with clarity, sometimes, over what is expected of us in the new company.

And they are looking to us to come with experience and help put out fires. Eeek.

Still, nice to be wanted. Needed, even.

Tuesday dawned bitterly cold in the house, as we turn the heating off most nights, but the bitter cold outside had seeped into the very brickwork of the house. I lay in bed under my thin duvet and shivered.

This would take some warming.

Jools had to take Poppy to the vets, if we could catch her, so there was a morning of no alarms, but we were both so cold we were awake and up before six anyway. The worry was how to catch POppy as she is still flightly, and although is happy here, and will sleep next to Jools at night, during the day she shies from contact, let alone be picked up.

It was going to be a challenge.

We feed them breakfast, and at least they are used to snow and ice outside, so do go out. We have coffee and wait for the house to warm through, which it does after a couple of hours.

Poppy ran away each time we tried to catch her, so Jools used the old kitty kibble trap, and when she was crunching away, she pounced and scooped up the ball of black fluff and we had her in the cat box, all safe.

Just about half eight, she took Poppy to the vets, and was relieved of one hundred and ten English pounds for pills and ledicine, but should put Poppy on the road to recovery. I was in a meeting when she came back, Poppy was let out of the box and she was happy. About half an hour later, after Jools had gone to work, there was loud meows from near the back door. I thought it was mUlder telling me he had caught a mouse or rabbit, but it was the usually mute Poppy letting rip about some complaint.

At least she can meow.

I have meetings all day, things are as clear as mud, for the most part.

Meanwhile, outside, the almost gale force east wind makes it feel like minus ten or something, and the heating barely keeps the chill off. I would not be going walking that day!

I do take the computer to the sofa so I could watch Only Connext over lunch, munching on another couple of slices of delicious bread, apricot jam and spicy totilla chips. Haters gonna hate. Apparently.

THe day begins to fade, but the snow reflecting light meant it was just about light until five, even if it were too cold to go out and do some snapping.

I make dinner: breaded haddock with a cheese sauce, curried rice and sweet chilli stir fry.

It was rather good.

Jools left work early in order to avoid any snow and so drive home in the light, but she did some work in the evening on her new work laptop.

I watch football, more FA Cup, this time 5th round, Man Utd v West Ham, and OK it was, even if we had to wait until extra time for the only goal.

Looked hard work, running around in a blizard, I drank some slow port as I watched.

Sensible policies for crazy times.