Another new year, they just keep a'coming around

Into the new year and had a lovely time with Ian and his great friends but found time to nip over back here to spend some time with my friends on NY's eve, too. It got a bit exciting at Steve and Sally's when the candles with plastic decoration around them, on the mantle and which had Xmas bunting along it, caught fire and spread black smoke up the wall and we all coughed! It was discovered by a guest hunting for the port while the remainder were either in the smoking room (not the room that was smoking) or still watching the NY's fun and aftermath of the London fireworks on the telly. I finally got some accounts keyed in ... took my chitty file to Ian's and sat peacefully, no phones ringing ... not that they do that much nowadays except for calls from gyms (see below) and keyed in a year and a half's worth of receipts. Need now to key in stuff from my bank balances. I should have done some today but the day just disappeared. Since I stopped work mid-December the days have just zoomed by and I've rarely had to get up early and when I have there's usually been an opportunity to go back to bed or have an afternoon nap. I think I just got plain ol' worn out the last few years of all work and little rest. It will be nice to leave work at work in future, hmm, and a regular income which should be much more encouraging for a potential mortgage application if I get to go ahead and buy a home. I've been looking on rightmove today to see if there's something in this area which I can afford outright .... da answer is very definitely no! Or at least not at the moment. A patch of land with planning consent but I don't think a Lego house would be much good! Maybe a bijou cottage in Brittany ... or Spain or Portugal or Bulgaria or or or .... I think I'd better just keep an open mind. I enquired today of the council the cost of a season ticket at a car park near the new office. It's £5 a day or £70 for a month, which includes all the council's car parks. I'd noticed a piece of land with a big sign declaring it 'private parking' so rang that company and they can off a space and a key to the compound for about £1 a day. Now that's a bit better, huh? I just have to go there and exchange money for key. I could have joined the gym nearest to work ... only about 10 mins walk away and for £40 ish a month enjoy free parking and the gym's facilities but you have to contract for a whole year and while I'm sure I could benefit from a year's worth of work outs and SHOULD make exercise regular, especially if I'm to be desk-bound, I'd rather do it in slots of 3 or 6 months. Also, it can be a bit of a dicey area to walk in on darker nights. Hmmm. One of my favourite films was on TV last night ... Wasabi ... starring Jean Reno. I missed the ending and it's so long since I saw it that I can't recall what it was! I have to confess it wasn't natural exuberation this time but probably something to do with the couple of pints imbibed over at t'pub and the Baileys nightcap. Well, time to apply the cream .....