Thursday was the last day of term for my son at university, and thankfully, he finished early. Usually, he’d finish at 6pm, and what started as a 15-minute journey to collect him has recently turned into a 30-minute journey through horrendous traffic. I can only assume it’s due to the looming holidays and late shoppers. I was sat in the car waiting for him, when I espied him talking to a friend who then proceeded to try and give him a hug. My son tried to avoid the hug, not sure why, but capitulated, and they had what looked like a very awkward embrace. He didn’t mention it once in the car, so I pretended I hadn’t seen it.

One of my colleagues on the hated campus was also a ‘hugger’ and I had to tell her I wasn’t as she was in the habit of hugging all and sundry. I don’t mind a hug, and not having a partner sometimes I miss them, however I never thought it appropriate to be huggy with work colleagues. I had some nice hugs on my final day of work, from the colleagues I liked, and that was okay, but on a regular basis at work, I’ll pass.

I’ve been avoiding going out much recently as it’s bitterly cold and I have a horrible cough. I sound like a 30 a day person – Never smoked, but the rest of my family smoke so I know what a smoker’s cough sounds like. I recently bought a multi pack of cough sweets, and 2 packs of paracetamol to see me through the holiday season. This cold took ages to come out, now it’s avoiding leaving me. It must like me, lol.

I noted this morning that councils in England are being warned they should supply separate caddies for food waste. Our council already does this, but apparently 65% of councils in England don’t. In wales, 100% of councils supply them, and recycling figures are very good for Wales. Just over half of councils in Scotland provide them. It never fails to amaze me how such a small country as the UK can have such differing figures, or ways of doing things. Some councils are avoiding supplying them citing cost as the issue. I’ve been using a recycling food caddy for years, so it’s second nature to us. It took a little getting to, however the caddy is very easy to keep clean, and my smaller household rubbish bin is barely half full for the fortnightly rubbish collection. Apparently, food waste can be put into an aerobic digester instead of landfill, so this is better for the environment. My Grandfather was a man before his time, partly due to going without for a lot of his life, and he was a stalwart believer in the true three R’s – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. He taught me well.

Many parts of the UK, including my area, are on weather warnings for snow and ice, with a further ‘amber’ warning of ice. I had planned to pop out and get bread, milk, and so on though now will wait and see what the day brings. The downstairs loo has a small heater in it and I left that on during the night on the ‘frost’ setting. The kitchen has no heating whatsoever, and this morning the cold-water tap spat and gurgled a little. What kind of idiot builds a single storey extension, in the UK, with no heating in it? The house is old, as is the extension, so hopefully things won’t freeze up. Ah, the joys of renting…

Keep warm and safe and have a good weekend.