Thursday 27th February 2025

Day four away from home, and getting near the halfway point.

My workload lessens each day, so I thought I would delay my travel to the office until half seven.

Huge mistake.

Late the previous afternoon, thick for descended on the city, and if anything was thicker by morning. That, and a few minutes makes all the difference with city traffic, on Wednesday it took just over then minutes to get to the office, but on Wednesday, 45!

The fog brought out the crazies, and with jams at each set of lights, each junctions, we crawled through the city centre and out to the north of the city. Traffic, getting worse all the while.

We arrived at the office at ten past eight, and inside my colleagues were waiting for me.

We shook hands and walked through the curtains and out through the fir trees beyond, into technological Narnia. This is our test bays, a place little know to those at the desks on the floors above. After a safety brief, we got down to work.

All completed in time for lunch, of course, so we could go and eat in the canteen, before going back to the office on the top floor.

Outside the fog hid all the neighbouring buildings, I had a meeting at two, and had I left after that it would have been during the start of rush hour, if I left straight away, I could work from my room, have the meeting, then maybe go out.

SO I arranged for a taxi to come and collect me, packed up and walked down to the entrance, and by the time I had my coat on, the cab arrived, and he zipped my back to the city and outside the hotel.

I found my room had not bee cleaned again, despite me requesting it the day before. So, once I had ended the meeting, I went to reception, stated very firmly my room needed attention, and said I was going out.

I had no clear idea of where I was going, but walked up the brutalist steps beside the Bruins Centre to old town, and along to the Mikkeller Bar which was open. I had a small glass of stout, which was more of a struggle to drink than I thought, so robust its taste.

Just was a more traditional pub, Classiker or something. I had a pint of O’Hara’s and download the Great Gatsby on my phone, and read the first hundred pages as I made two pints disappear.

It was getting dark when I left, back to the hotel, where my room was tidy and the bed made.

Dinner was taken in the hotel: fish and chips, which wasn’t good, but meant I did not have to go out into the fog. After eating, back to my room, where I fell asleep listening to the radio.