Yesterday was the 12th day of Christmas so we took down the tree after we'd watched Murder Investigation Team, the Pseudo Bill program that is more like the real Bill used to be before it turned into a soap opera. Pseudo Bill has an interesting female lead character. She is small and fiesty and has a ferocious interviewing technique which invariably brings even the most hardened toe-rag or scrote to his knees. I like her style.

I had a call last night from an old friend living in Queensland - let's call her Ofliq - loving life and full of plans for the future: career goals, academic aspirations, personal development. That's what I like to hear from my contempories, none of this retirement plan stuff, thanks all the same.