Friday 2nd January 2026

It is the second day of the year, and was a Friday, so was a rest day. So, after four sessions in five days up to NYE, I thought a second day of rest before two sessions at the weekend would be good.

So, I would lay in.

Jools, however, went to the pool at six. I woke hearing the car going up the drive.

I assumed be hadn't been robbed.

So, got my self up, manoeuvring my body around the sleeping lump that is Cleo without waking her, got dressed and went down for coffee.

It was going to be a glorious bright and sunny day, but bitterly cold, and with each day now it will get ever colder before snow is due to flutter by on Tuesday.

I could have gone on a second plant hunt, but put that off to the weekend.

Jools came back at half seven.

What's the plan, she asked.

There is no plan, I replied.

OK.

So, we had a brew and breakfast, and the morning slipped past.

There was to be a craft morning at the library, but the cold weather and a bereavement meant it got cancelled, as did a trip to Faversham to meet a friend, as a family emergency had cropped up.

I think we were rather glad not to be driving there, or rather back in the dark on a clear frosty night.

So, we had nothing planned, and nowhere really to go.

I did go to Tesco for a few things. Jools said she'd stay home, so I ventured out at eight, before any traffic really built, and rushed round the store, now with a few empty shelves where Christmas used to be.

Back home, the shopping was put away and the bird feeders topped up. They squawked their pleasure at this, or anger as my slow work as they were hungry.

Who knows.

We had a pack and a bit of bacon, so I cooked it all in our super-wide grill, and made stuffed bacon rolls for lunch.

Which were nice.

And for the afternoon, we watched two documentaries: one on UFOs and the other on Coelacanths.

There were so Senate hearings a few years back about UFO sightings, and this looked at several famous cases, and was interesting.

Coelacanths had interested me since one was featured in the first series of Life on Earth, when the 400 million year old "living fossil" was first filmed alive.

Two ultra-modern submersibles dived off the coast of Sulawesi (where I have worked in my deep seas survey days), and they found a colony of at least eight of the ancient fish, and filmed them in super high definition.

Then eyes down for the quiz, which, for the first time, all sixty of us got the title of the LP with the first clue. I came 10th, due to my slow typing.

Finally, I made a batch of sausage rolls to use up the pastry, then made plum sauce spiced beef stir fry and noodles, which was very good indeed.

Outside, the Wolf Moon rose, and sone down ice cold light on the east Kent tundra.