Saturday and the last day of the year. It starts with a lazy coffee in bed and the usual Saturday catch up. My partner and I finally get up and have breakfast before going shopping for the evenings Tagine. Once back from the shops we indulge in coffee and pastries. The post has arrived and I have a letter from a friend to read, so more coffee and a quiet moment to read it. Its such a pleasure to get a letter, I hope that receiving mine are met with the same levels of happiness. The writer of the letter suggests I might consider renaming the blog as I might consider that I am more than my cancer. Its a fair point and I intend to give myself some thinking time to consider the issues in this. Having had the letter joy I turn to preparing the Tagine. I find it relaxing to prepare food and especially new dishes. This one includes apricots and olives with a collection of spices so I am hopeful that my palate is going to be excited. Having cleared away the kitchen and set the meal on its way I turn my attention to the herb and spice shelves that are in a random state. I clean, and reorder the shelves, removing duplicates and jettisoning out of date goods. Once satisfied with this I read the gas and electricity meters and submit my readings. God knows what December is going to cost us but I cannot abide the cold, its bad enough facing days where 2 o’clock feels more like 5 o’clock. Its already dark, overcast and raining hard.

I take a break to watch a rugby match and to start drafting the blog before I buckle down to do my tax return, which is in danger of being late. Various friends have sent messages hoping that the coming year is a good one and that to some extent 2022 has been one that many of us have had to survive. I would echo this, it would be good if we all could experience a sense of positive progress over the coming year. For my part I am going to endeavour to be a little calmer and quietly pursue a routine that sees me doing the important things I want to do.

Tax return done I settle down to the Tagine (too acid needed honey in it), and The Last Leg, football and Hootenanny and the drift into the New Year of 2023. Good luck to all of us, see you as soon as possible.