Back to Baseics

I chuckle when I see this backpackers pad, the Base. I ended up here in a ghoulish mosquito-ridden basement in 2004 when on my first long trip to Africa. One of my fellow travellers had an allergic reaction to peanuts in sauce and had to be rushed for an adrenaline injection. Now I'm working from an office two doors down. I'm surprised the backpackers joint has survived; it wasn't the greatest experience.

Had a good conversation with the boss, our first catch-up since we both returned from leave. 'I'm glad to hear you're feeling rested', she said, 'as there are various urgencies we need to get moving with'. It was a very good discussion but a reminder that my greatest challenge for 2019 is to maintain a balance between work and everything else. So I didn't work late and instead accessed Question Time via my modem. Fiona Bruce is going to be excellent at not allowing politicians to blow hot air. I remain of a view that David Davis is pointless, privileged and pompous, and that Emily Thornberry and Angela Rayner are the sort of straight-talking Labour MPs that will be leading figures in the near future.

I'm sorry to report that I've been sampling Mozambican mangoes and they're not the world's greatest. Very stringy with very large stones. Keep having to reach for floss immediately after eating.