Friday 1st October 2021

THe first of October.

Welcome to autumn.

I mean, some September days can be warm enough for a while to imagine its still summer, but no October, the lower sun, shorter days.

Jools wasn't working as she had several appointments to do; yoga, haircut and getting the kittens jabbed. That year has come round quickly.

I have work, of course, possible again thanks to the mobile phone, and to reward me, I had six meetings between eight and two. With just two half hour breaks in all that time.

There should be work done too, but what chance is there?

This used to be the usual way on operations, meetings on meetings, meetings about meetings and pre-meetings for other meetings. Sometimes up to six hours a day every day. Now it's once a month, which isn't so bad.

I suppose.

And lo, the rain did fall in huge sheets through the morning. I say morning, it didn't get light until after half seven in the morning, with low and dark clouds from horizon to horizon, looking bleak. Cats did not go out, but Jools left into the dark to do yoga and then go shopping.

I log on for work and prepare for the first meeting.

I have managed to close one of my long term projects, and in order to get approval for that I had prepared a nice and only slightly dull powerpoint presentation. I have found many weaknesses and also manage to raise questions about how an organisation crontols itself in the digital landscape. That's a problem for others higher up the food chain.

We have our monthly status meeting in the department, with still no clarity on the future of our individual or team roles.

Jools returned with the shopping, though she had to park opposite the road from Tesco due to the queue leading into the petrol station. Tesco didn't have fuel, but the rumour was some was going to be delivered.

We have leftover fritters for lunch, and some garlic bread.

I work on.

Come two, and I am done. Seven hours work, six hours of meetings, and all targets achieved.

Wow.

I put some music, write some blogs, while outside the clouds clear and the sun came out. So I went out with the camera to snap some late autumn colour.

Autumn flowers are mostly reds and oranges, and the dahlias look wonderful, backlit and still flowering well.

I take part in the music quiz, but fail to gues it identity of the mystery group: The Cure, and so a quick dash to Jen's, with both Shell and Tesco out of fuel, I check on the guage every minute to see if the needle was dropping.

Jen had prepared Carr's pasties, garlic potatoes and mushy peas. I even took a bottle of beer to sup with it.

And then cards: Jen was the winner, which made her smile even more.