Category: Journal

I just cannot believe how cold it is today. Absolutely head hurting cold.

I have been out of the house twice – once in the morning to take Fliss to the station and Elisha to nursery, and again later in the afternoon when I went to collect some parcels. On the second jaunt I was shivering in the car until the heater got going, despite the fact I had a stout jacket on and a scarf, too.

My fingers were so withered from the cold that my ring kept falling off – I lost it under the passenger seat when I went to change gear on the way, and it fell off again when I threw the parcels into the boot. When I got back home again I sat huddled up in the computer room with the heater on, surfing the net and playing some multiplayer WipEout Pulse to take my mind off of it.

I’ve just stuck the central heating on, though. I figure that if we’re to be in Scotland for the next week or so then it’ll be off, so running it at full tilt now isn’t going to break the bank.

Unfortunately, just as I’m getting warm now, I have to head out to get Elisha from nursery. So as soon as I wolf down this here Hot Pocket and cup of coffee I’ll be out braving the elements once more. Man, I really was born into the wrong climate – I hate being cold and wet for two thirds of the year. Or three quarters of the year, if 2007 was anything to go by.

A week ago on Thursday as I awaited the platform announcement for my train home from London, Fliss texted me with the news that a long time family friend, George, had passed away earlier in the day. He’d been of poor health for a while and the combination of that and old age finally got the better of him.

Going back, I’m not exactly sure how George became woven into the fabric of our family – I think he’d go and watch the football at East King Street park back in the day and got talking to Cousin Iain. For whatever reason, George didn’t see anything of his own family, so as is common with our lot, he was welcomed into the fold.

I’ll be spending most of this week down in London, attending a training course from Monday to Thursday. I expect it’s going to be a bit of a slog, stuck in the lecture room all day trying to soak up some very dry stuff. Plus the heat is on back in the office right now, so I’d much rather be at my desk getting work done.

However, it’s good timing that my Auntie Helen is down visiting Cousin Iain, so I’ll get to see them one of the nights so we can have a meal. My hotel is right near Regents Street, too, so it’ll be very handy for both Leicester Square and Oxford Street should I get some time to go wandering.

I’ll check in when I get back.