Wednesday 1 November 2023
It’s November FFS, though that is significantly less shocking than the arrival of September and then October. I met my friend Rachael at 07:30 for a pre-work walk and coffee/tea. It was raining but warm, which is pretty much the same as Scotland.
I set off from Scottish Borders just after 07:30 yesterday and arrived back in Lewisham at 15:15, having stopped once at a farm shop on the A66, which incorporated a “hello, camels” encounter, once for diesel and, finally, for a walk, coffee and to eat lunch in Stamford. The only traffic issues were the usual roadworks on the A1 and the final two or so miles on the A12 into the Blackwall Tunnel. I got home, Chris and I unloaded the car (mainly laundry – it takes less than 24 hours to dry clothes in the warm flat in London versus up to five days in the cold Scottish house) and then I slumped before dragging myself out for a walk around Lewisham at around 19:00. I enjoyed walking through the high street on a wet evening, the lights, the people; nice buzz. I wouldn’t have thought that when I lived here all the time, it wasn’t a novelty then.
The flat is, as usual, very warm. The indoor temperature monitor was at 20°C last night and we had the bedroom window open all night and it was still a bit too warm. I am currently sitting at my desk with my sleeves rolled up, which is such a treat. What is less of a treat – no offence to Chris – is that we share an office here. It’s not a London versus Scotland thing, I know, but I have no idea how we managed to work for so long in the same office; it’s far too distracting. Well, maybe it is a London v Scotland thing for the fact of not being able to afford a flat in London with an extra room to be able to have separate offices.
This is a fairly short stay in London, Tuesday to Sunday. I wanted to see my mum this month and this week worked out best, though assuming all will be okay to drive about with all the storms forecast, this time in the southeast rather than in Scotland. I have quite a lot of work to do but I have of course managed to make far too many arrangements with friends. So far, Rachael for a walk this morning (but pre-work so that’s ok), Nana for dinner tonight (again, in my defence, outside work times), Duncan for a walk tomorrow morning (I’ll get up early and work before and then again after), to my mum’s on Friday and Louise in central London on Saturday. Ho hum, but I love being able to do that and the work I’m currently doing is easy to do from anywhere; I just need to discipline myself about getting it done at whatever time I am free and home.
As with most trips, as soon as I was somewhere on the road between Scotland and London, I switched to London mode and was looking forward to being back here. The house in Scotland feels so far removed from everyday life here. It is also very, very nice to not be cold without any form of heat source being on.
