No Man's Land

L makes me late. Well, in combination with the ridiculous Saturday service on the buses she makes me late. I naively thought the 8.15 bus would benefit from the light traffic and just about get me to work on time but I was so wrong. It was late, was packed and the traffic was fairly busy. They don't make it easy to work over this no man's land period.

Daughter returns to Manchester but she is considering moving back to Nottingham in March when her lease ends if a good job doesn’t drop in Manchester. That could reduce the number of Fridays in the week. I’ll have to find her a granny flat, either that or a love nest to take my fancy woman to.

L sends me her New Year Resolutions which makes an interesting list although a few are repeat offenders from previous years. I tend not to make any resolutions in the hope that life continues to treat me as well as it has been doing.

Tonight I do my third Watt Bike session in a row. Tonight its 20k before I go to meet L at Quad where she is having coffee with some friends. I had hope to get there before they left but I just miss them as they go home to their dog.

We delay going home to ours and have a few drinks in the Derby Tap (aka the Royal Standard) instead.

(Friday 30^th December)

The Living Dead

Well that’s it, the Christmas break is over and we’re both back at work today. Connor meanwhile has wreaked a bit of havoc and iced everywhere over, so I don’t manage to get on the bike but with most people still off work I get to work by car in super quick time in about 15 minutes. Taking the bus would have been nice but they’re running a Saturday service which is hopeless for commuting.

Blimey Connor, it's a bit nippy in my office. Even I’ve got the heating on.

There’s not a lot of ‘real’ work to be done and what bits there are still allows enough time to complete my Tax Return. I also fill in L’s gargantuan pension transfer form. Is there any reason for this to be a huge booklet rather than a one page form?

At lunch time I go out for a few bits of shopping which is slightly traumatic as Sainsbury’s is akin to a scene from the Living Dead with folk wandering round like zombies not knowing what to do with themselves now Christmas is over.

No cycling of course means penance at the gym and a 15k Watt Bike session after work. L does her gym at the Tennis Centre as most of Nottingham’s centres are closing at 4pm all week. I pick her up from there on my way home.

This evening we have the delayed Squash Club Annual Meal. We try out a brand new Indian restaurant on Trent Bridge called Chakh Le India. We park on the Embankment and walk across. The management seem very keen to make an impression and even offer us free drinks. It’s a decent meal and even my squash colleague finds very little to complain about.

(Wednesday 28^th December)

A Well Know Cold Remedy

I'm back at work. L's back at the gym.

As it’s still raining, I don’t bike and get the bus instead. They are running a Saturday service and there are only two buses that will get you into Derby for 9pm. Consequently number one is packed but I squeeze on.

L sends me some swimming dates. Again. Yes I know I need to start swimming more but it’s the third time she’s sent me those dates. They are in my diary. Honest.

Squash is interesting. My opponent is still recovering from something someone gave him for Christmas, a heavy cold. I win the first game easily and I’m well up in the second before that well know cold remedy known as ‘impending defeat’ kicks in and I lose 1-3.

(Thursday 27th December)