Red Wine and White Russian

I went swimming last night, didn't get very far in terms of distance, as it is not something that I'm very good at but I got wet at least. What was good though was going into the steam room afterwards. So gloriously hot! I'm not sure how long I was in there for but however long it was was the best that period of time I have had for ages. Not only was it nice and warm but it also felt like being massaged and I could feel myself almost melting into the floor I was that relaxed. I'm going swimming again today.

I had to leave the pool as I was going off to meet Rob and have some food. I used to share a flat with Rob and it's been a long time since we have met up so there was some catching up to be done. I'm normally a fairly positive kind of person so I would like to recommend things to you from time to time today though I have to un-recommend some things. Comedy drinking for one, silly game and it doesn't win you any friends. I play it every year about this time – only the once per year is enough – and it entails going to the off licence and buying the most garishly coloured disgusting looking drinks you can find and then insisting your friends drink them with you. I also really really really would un-recommend the bank robber game, that's the game where your friends think it would be funny to pretend that they are bank robbers and loudly plan a robbery in a very quiet pub whilst you try very hard to pretend that you don't know the people that you are sharing a table with. One thing I would recommend is drinking lots of water before going to bed.

I slept in a bed last night, crashed out in Rob's spare room and then woke at about 4am with my head pounding and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. Nevertheless it really was very nice to sleep in a bed, and warm too. I had not realised how cold I have been sleeping in the woods, by comparison sleeping in a bed under a duvet was roasting hot – lovely. I got up about five and could stand up straight and walk about with no shoes on, no need to shiver, jump up and down or any of that usual morning stuff. Strolled down to the kitchen and spent a happy 5 minutes looking for the kettle and had tea, with milk, made properly. One think that really annoys me is that every café I go to can make blinding cappuccinos but none of them can make tea properly so this was my first decent cup of tea in weeks. So I'm sitting here in this centrally heated flat that is a mere ten minutes walk from work drinking tea and eating breakfast (cold garlic bread) the question obviously becomes 'have I done a wise thing, or would it be better to live here?' Rob is looking for a flat mate for the spare room and where I in a position to take it I could, for a rather reasonable rent, live ten minutes walk from work. They are talking about the Thames freezing over this winter Dave gleefully told me last night, sometimes, just sometimes, I can see why all this 'living indoors' that's so fashionable nowadays is something that people would choose to do.

I prefer my walk to work than the one through London although I did get to have a go on an escalator.