Fitzwill

The last working day before Christmas used to mark Toast Day in the office. Alison used to cart in multiple toasters and defrost the contents of the freezer and we'd eat up all jams, sauces and unidentifiable products left in the kitchen. In the new building we don't have freezers or toasters so it's a less exciting slog to the finish line, the office stragglers unable to fuel themselves with stale bagels and blackcurrant preserve. This straggler could have done with some toast to help with the expenses claim I'm submitting that stretches back to March. My boss is going to kill me when she receives it.

Some flyers are doing the rounds in the office, encouraging people to experiment with going vegan in January. It's great how environmental issues such as plastic waste and the impact of meat eating have hit the public's consciousness much more this year. However these campaigns must be careful not to be too outlandish in their claims. The leaflet states that an individual switching to veganism in one month can prevent the deforestation of an area equivalent to 15 football pitches, so it surely isn't factoring in that veganism also requires land for cultivation. I don't see how this can be accurate and it requires more research. I have been more mindful of late that I want to truly understand the environmental impact of meat consumption vs other land uses and if it makes sense, reduce my own meat intake.

Leigh suggested a lunchtime bite to eat and quick squizz at the Degas exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum. I took the opportunity to improve my almost zero knowledge of the art world, and it was enjoyable once I'd started pronouncing Degas correctly.

We avoided being too profane in the genteel café and instead I tried to take an awful photo of lunch and a suitably artistic card borrowed from an adjacent spinny card thing (see above). Leigh presented me with a washbag she made, 'cos the woman's got talent.

Gugs, on a work/home trip from Myanmar came over in the evening to eat the perishables from my fridge. We had a lovely catch up after a very emotional and sombre month.

I keep my work phone fairly close in case there are disasters in South Sudan that I need to react to, and I panicked after midnight when it rang. Only a drunken loon on the lookout for someone called Mark.