I (mistakenly, it turned out) thought it was warm enough to dispense with the tracksters and go running in my shorts.

I don’t like the tracksters hugely, they’re a bit tighter than I’d like (although not a bad as running tights – my God, who would go outdoors wearing those?!) But I’m not happy with inflicting my legs on the world, either. But it must be done.

In the past six months or so,a disturbing trend has materialised – I forget to drink my tea until it has cooled to lukewarm, or even stone-cold. I’d normally drink my tea a couple of degrees below scalding.

Obviously, cold tea is disgusting, and needs to be tipped away and a fresh mug brewed.

I don’t know why I’ve started to do this; I’m getting worried!

This is more like it – it’s amazing what at a good night’s sleep can do (and possibly load of honey and lemon too, although why something made by bees is beneficial to human health is a mystery to me).

I was up just after nine, and I’ve already showered, drunk fresh coffee, eaten porridge, and had a couple of cups of tea.

I’ve spent a couple of hours making a Massive Attack-style track with half-speed drum’n'bass loops, some djembe percussion and a small string section. And some double bass, because that’s the kind of mood I am in.

And its not much past noon,I might even get some vacuuming done today. A definite improvement!

I am amazed that I have kept running through this, but I reason that the fitter I am, the sooner I will beat this.

So I have reported to drinking honey and lemon. I’m not sure if it works, out even what exactly it is supposed to do. It is a good badge of sickness, though: if you’re on honey and lemon you really must be ill

I’m fed up of writer’s block. I was hoping to spend my free afternoons (I work an early shift) and alcohol-free evenings (I’m spending January ‘dry’) productively. I am going to read, write (maybe) and make music. It’s not going to plan.

Maybe it’s the insomnia, or maybe I’m just out off practice, but I’m just not getting any ideas right now.

At least when creativity strikes, I’ll  be ready for it…

(… He said, trying to put a positive spin on it…)

And now… now I am getting the hang of it, just about.

There are many advantages to this early shift; I am finished by 1 pm latest, so have the afternoon to mooch about town, do food shopping, play my guitar, go for a run, etc. Or sometimes I have a sleep for an hour if I feel like it.

The main downside (except for having to get up at 5 am) is having to go to bed around nine. That still feels wrong.

So when on a day like this, when it is maybe minus two, I find it hard to give up. It’s because I know I have jogged in worse, in snow and ice, in laughably unsuitable running gear. So I would have no excuse to not run today.

I’ve never been up in the lift here, although I moved in just over eleven years ago. The storage in the flat is now more or less at capacity, so when I got a Christmas tree in the sale I needed to find somewhere to put it for the next twelve months.

The building is pretty old – there might be brick on the outside, but there are exposed beams inside, and the flood are wonky, as they’ve had a couple of hundred years to settle.

I didn’t know what I’d find in the loft, hopefully something valuable (one can dream!) But I wasn’t expecting to find that my loft and my neighbour’s loft were one and the same, with just a short wicker fence dividing them.

I can’t help think it’s a bit dodgy from a security point of view.