Friday 13th December 2024

And to Friday.

Half of the company was taking either a long weekend, or their Christmas vacation had already begun.

I had a few things to do, three meetings this morning. One the presentation of last week's audit findings, and then two follow up meetings.

Audits are all well and good, but any findings need addressing, and there is the bandwidth of usual work would be taken up with any such actions, and so any chance of getting out of doing them is a plea worth making.

I get up at quarter to six. Jools has yoga, so is dressed and drinking her tea. And she has made my coffee, which I drink while checking on the world.

In a word: we're screwed.

Once she leaves for the Oddfellows Club, which is where the classes are now, so I can then deal with the bins and other assorted bird-related tasks.

Its going to be another dull and cloudy day. Its been six days since we last saw the sun or blue sky, and it all seems so dreary.

I prepare for the first meeting: the presentation, which goes as expected, but we hold firm, so now they have time to come up with evidence to contradict any of the findings.

The next two are not so bad, as its mostly coaching on what we want them auditees to do. And I guess that by the end of the decade we might just get there.

We shall see.

I have databases to update, two formal letters to send out. And I am done.

I go for a shower and shave, and once all clean and shorn, the world and life seems better.

I have fried cottage pie for lunch.

Yes, fried.

Potato and ground beef go crispy. And takes a few minutes.

I clear away the computer, wash the dishes and am done. So spend the afternoon writing and watching stuff on YouTube.

I gamble early in the music quiz, and fail big time. Not End of the Century but was Combat Rock.

Sigh.

After supper we have coffee and panettone. And then there is football, while temperature falls outside.

There is a promise we might see the sun on Saturday. We shall see.

Friday was the earliest the sun sets this winter. Days will get shorter until the 21st, but sunset will come later each day.

We'll take any small victory at this time of the year.

I sip rum whilst watching the footy.

Lost in translation.