😍

It seems the Portsmouth to Isle of Wight ferry has had a bit of a 'parking incident' as it came into dock 👀

When did Mini Eggs get so expensive?

For those looking for an excellent plate of food near Basingstoke, I heartily recommend going for Thai food at The Four Horseshoes in Sherfield on Loddon. Local beamed community pub with an amazing menu.

Just back from an eye test. My eyes are better than they were before lockdown. Howwwww does that happen?

Open to being told that I need to learn my own language here, but the 'hundreds of fewer beds' is itching my brain and doesn't feel right?

** British pair about to skate on the iPlayer klaxon **

Lots of lovely Figure Skating going on in Sheffield for those of a winter sport persuasion. Winter Olympics next month is raising interest, as is, er, some Canadian TV show.

Survival of the nicest would be a good rule.

No person thou hast loved ys evir trulye lost as long as thou love them still. No place that ys gone ys evir trulye gone as long as thou hast it yn thyne herte. These are the maner of thinges Ich ponder when Dante doth dryve too faste yn the rented Hyundai Ioniq. He hath just put on "Two Princes."

At this point my body viscerally rejects being anywhere near anyone who doesn’t care what’s going on in the world

Mayfair yesterday, Southampton today. Guess where I heard 'Costa' being pronounced 'coaster'.

Here's to absent friends (I'm here on my own tonight so you all are), but special mention to the man in Krakow I spoke to for work earlier who after a pause told me 'you said that really nicely'. Not sure why it struck me quite so hard but it was a lovely compliment and I'm still smiling.

One too many drunk texts received already.

Now with alt image description:

I've been away working in a non-tinselly environment over Christmas so walking back into my lounge and it being very Christmassy but already feeling outdated is quite the trip.

I found this unexpectedly funny 🙈

This is true and I was the only one on set excited about it (and playing the song on my phone to blank stares)

So true, also an excellent after dinner game to think of more (then make sure via Google that they aren't real - you'd be surprised). Suggest Trefuckery, Trenighy and Trewerthersoriginal as starters.

I'm going to do it! And I'm going to skeet them as I close them, so you can enjoy the random stuff that's clogged everything up too.

Happy Christmas all, Shaun the Sheep along with Wallace and Gromit are available all over the iPlayer if you get stuck and need reassuring it will somehow all be ok x

Chris Rea a couple of days before Christmas was a low blow, even for the Reaper :(

A word to the wise. When buying a car just like your old one, make sure the locking wheelnuts in your glovebox are for the new car, and the ones you thought were the old ones are 100 miles away. Don't ask me how I know this.

In brighter news, I get to work with Fairport Convention next spring so that's nice.

The next 10 days have too many things in them and I'm tired already

Very sad to hear Martin Parr has died. I felt honoured to welcome him into my home just a couple of months ago. A great artist and a true gent.

Jetlag is overrated

Well done to the cafe I was in this morning who intentionally 'Whammed' a smug dad while his kids were in the loo. Grandma grassed him up, backed up by waitress. Nice one Grandma.

A peace prize. Really?

It seems I've spent a lot of hours listening to Monty Don audiobooks this year. I couldn't recall a line of it if asked, but I've not felt lonely.

Yesterday I moved an extension lead so I can plug my laptop in when in bed and I guess I'm just here until March now?

Today I've been working with some very excitable Italians, and chatty Swedes that make me feel like I should work on expanding my vocabulary through their exquisite use of theirs.

Let’s hope there’s now a BBC4 Stoppard season…

😞💔

I disturbed two owls whilst driving this morning. One of them had white under their wings, I'm about to fall down an Internet rabbit hole on owls now aren't I.

Spoiler, Scotland men won 9-3. Same for the women tomorrow would be lovely but first to play some pesky and rather brilliant Swedes.

Scotland's Men going for bronze against Italy in the same competition. I don't think about it for years then thanks to work, getting suckered into Curling. Again.

In other Curling news, the Scottish women's team are IN THE FINAL TOMORROW. 8am. (Not like the very early morning shenanigans we all went through a few years ago).

This is lovely x

If you're a fan of curling and like a little something running sneakily in the corner of your work screen... Scotland are playing Sweden on the iPlayer.

Remember: It ys okaye to be lonely. It ys okaye to feel lost. It ys okaye to be sad. It ys okaye to have no plannes or just small plannes. It ys okaye to have big plannes that seem exhausting. It ys okaye to be a mess. Take care of thyself. Thou art amazinge.

Brain, please note that you're depriving yourself of a good few hours sleep at this point. The alarm is fine I have checked it 4695346 times

Why does our trust in alarms evaporate when we're getting up early and it's really important

Train home to the coast. A beautiful dusk walk across Waterloo Bridge nearly had me staying.

Coffee shop in London. Person at next table self identifies to their table mate as 'bi-adjacent'. This is a new one on me.

If night driving on the M1 in thick fog teaches us anything, it's that a worrying number of people don't know where their fog lights switch is.

Caught in the Cloudflare soup.

I know someone who is a teacher in a NY school. She says that some of the undocumented kids have 'disappeared' and she's not sure if they have been withdrawn by parents or taken by authorities :(