Expanse of blue

Frozen. Last night the automatic chicken door froze and needed to be encouraged to shut. The ground is super-solid, a thickening layer of frost coating everything. I've dug out a jumper from my collection of xmas-past unwearables.

Megan arrived early afternoon and we sit around talking, snacking and generally shooting the breeze. She has a driving lesson later on, but more importantly, it's her 18th birthday tomorrow. She'll be deep in an exciting RAF induction day in Glasgow, so we're having her birthday outing tonight.

We go to Yes Sushi on Hanover Street and have the "All You Can Eat Hotpot & Maki" meal. This is new to me. Boiling broth on the table and a huge selection of meat, fish, veg, dumplings and other exotic foods to self-cook in the broth. Like all good eating experiences, there are new implements to familiarise yourself with. In this case it's tongs for transferring uncooked food items to the broth and a scoop for extracting them once cooked. Getting noodles out proves to be the most challenging.

You have 2 hours to eat as much as you like, but we're comfortably done well before that. Angus is exhausted and doesn't put away as much as you'd expect. Claire fills up quick and has had a tiring week too. Megan, one suspects, rarely gets the 10 hours of sleep she seems to need and is also wilting. So, we take her back to the bus station and head for home.