Week commencing Monday, 12 January 2026
Quantified Self
- This week: Stand 7/7; Exercise 3/7 and Move 6/7. (76%). Morning walks: 0/4. Office days 1/5. Total steps: 37,715. 16.5 hours in meetings.
Life
- There was a lot of post-Christmas washing done at the start of the week. We went from smelling of pine needles to smelling of laundry conditioner.
- I had to freeze some trousers. It didn’t work as well as I had expected.
- Note to self for next time: get the printing ready, pay for it at home, and then walk to the library with the code that unlocks the documents. I think that would be easier.
- The government has announced it will build a new railway between Birmingham and Manchester. It’s not HS2, honest.
- It’s performance review time at work. We have a process that encourages reflection on the year, and I took time to prepare my thoughts. The effort felt worthwhile; for once, I had something proactive to contribute when the meeting itself came around.
- I went for drinks. Discovered that younger people don’t know how the BBC is funded. Not much hope for the BBC if this is the opinion of future generations.
- Related, sensibly rejected the suggestion to move on to a later-opening bar.
- A very productive Friday. Surprising.
- Sad news arrived: Zipcar confirmed it is shutting down in the UK. Disappointed.
- Got to Euston on Saturday morning and wished I owned a car as all services were suspended. Then, miraculously, my train left, and I was only ten minutes late.
- The suitcase was delivered to Shrewsbury.
- Saturday, the dish of “belly pork bites with black garlic glaze, chilli, spring onion, parsley and caramelised onion aioli” was delicious. If small.
- Sunday, the lamb roast was the opposite: a huge portion. Also, very tasty.
Media
- By the end of the week, we had caught up with the broadcast version of The Traitors and now we can’t run into spoilers. It’s very good, but bad for my blood pressure.
- When in Shrewsbury for the weekend, we watched the semi-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters snooker championship. I was so hooked, I started watching the final on the iPlayer on the train home on Sunday.