Friday 5th March 2021

The year marches (ahem) on.

The sun now rises to the south east, usually hidden by the old tree and hedge, but they are gone now. So we get a fine view of the sun rise when the weather is good enough. We now have an extra hour's daylight in the morning and evening, and in three weeks the clocks will go forward, so it will be light beyond seven in the evening, light enough to go for a walk before dinner.

And the orchid season should begin this month, or early next month anyway. Then the madness will begin.

On Monday some schools return, and there is some easing of restrictions. We hope that this is beginning of the end of COVID, not just a pause for a third wave.

Work is ramping up for all of us from the old company, but no so fast for me, but that will come, as I have three areas to do dozens of focus audits on. First up is a blade factory in Italy, which wull be by remote. I see in the plan there is another on for August, I believe I could just manage a trip to Italy in the sunmmer. I have just Googled it, and found it is in the "heel", very near where I was posted on a top secret mission with the RAF in 1999, just like old times.

But for now, there is orientation and induction training, and preparing for my first run of audits.

Jools was off for the day, for the weekend in fact, so she does the feeding cats and making coffee stuff, went out for a walk while I started work, logging on just before seven.

With the IT now working, or at leat a simpler workround, I have an Edge browser open for our old intranet, a different one for Office applications, and then a third via a VPN for all other resources and databases, there are also two versions of Teams, two Outlooks, though I have merged my two accounts into the Office version rather than use that and a webmail version for the other account.

I still have no actual job title, roles or responsibilities defined that would satisfy an audit, but being an auditor you can be sure I am on it.

THe morning progresses, I read, write, read some more, write some more.

Jools returns, I help put shopping away, we have breakfast quickly followed by lunch.

And it is soon afternoon, I did 80% of my induction training, and I have to head to the physio. Yes, my shoulder is still knacked, although I did think it was getting better. I said so.

I was massaged, but this was the prelude to the pummeling, and poking. He poked and poked my tendons in the shoulder, and found the inflamed on. It was no better. I have to return to the cream, ice pack and giver exercises a rest for four days.

Phew.

I drive back and Jools makes a coffee as I rub on the cream and she finds the ice pack. My shoulder lets me know it is not happy.

But it is Friday, and the weekend.

Yay.

At six I have the music quiz, and if I had listened to my gut I would have won, as it is, my brain dounbted itself, and I did not enter.

Sigh.

Straight after that, we hop in the car to go to Jen's for dinner.

But the roundabout at the Duke of York's was jammed. We did just manage to get round, but Jubilee Way was blocked off, as was the road to the Castle. We just managed to get past KFC at Whitfield, and cruised to Jen's, just as she was dishing up: chicken curry and fried rice.

It was very nice, and we manage to eat all the curry and rice.

Then play cards.

Just two games of Meld, which Jen won one, and Jools the other, I just got caught with loads of points. But I drank wine, and was happy enough.

We have to come back through Pineham, to avoind the traffic, we could see flashing lights all along the A2, but the Deal road was empty. We get home safe and sound.