We almost forgot last night that the clocks were going back. Its always a source of excitement when you remember that you are eligible for an extra hour in bed. I say eligible because I’ve chosen not to spend my hour in bed this year. I’ve decided that is a waste of a perfectly good hour and I’m going to ‘pocket’ mine and use it throughout the week.

Say I’m running ten minutes late on the way to work I could use a bit there to recover the time.Or…..If I stay up watching some late night documentary like “Dogs with jobs” or “When Pets go bad” on Discovery and that documentary is not particularly good, then the Phrase I would normally employ would be “theres half an hour of my life that I’ll never get back”. However, with my extra hour  I really could get that half an hour back. I cant believe I haven’t thought of this before. Genius.

I’ve offered to buy Mels hour from her but she said she wants to keep it for when she’s getting ready for the Christening that we’re going to this afternoon. It always takes her an age to get ready for something like this and she has decided to fritter her whole hour on it, which I think is just wasteful, particularly during a recession.

George the Prozac pooch, is using his hour to watch squirrels in the Garden. They are everywhere at the moment, gathering food for the winter ahead and this morning they are unbelievably busy. I wonder if they hadn’t realised that clocks have gone back and if the startling realisation has spurred them into frenzied action. Whatever, George is none too keen and he wants to use his hour to fend them off. You can tell by the movement of his head and the 10,000 yard stare in his eyes that he is thinking about what he would do to them if he got hold of one. I’m not a massive squirrel fan (Squirrelist??) but it make me shudder to imagine the carnage.

This afternoon we’re attending a Hindu Christening. I’m not sure exactly what the format is for this type of thing but I’m certainly looking forward to finding out what occurs. I’ve been told that I might have to wear a turban which I think might be a wind up. Mel said that she wouldn’t be able to contain herself and has promised a photograph on this blog if that is the case. I am though, really looking forward to the social afterwards and am saving my appetite for the anticipated spread of Indian fare. If its really good I may spend some of my hour there………

The weather reports from France contrast sharply with the early winter that we’re experiencing right now. I travelled to London on Thursday sans coat and was made to regret that decision the moment I stepped off the train. People with 25 layers on were leaning into the wind and staring at me like I was some kind of crazed northerner, like the ones you see on TV at football matches, bare-chested, twirling their shirts around their heads whilst Arctic winds blow snow around their nether regions. I was the business equivalent in my flimsy inadequate suit.

Given Helens newly revealed weather forecasting skills and her outlook for the weeks/months ahead, I shall make sure that I’m not so poorly prepared for our festive France jaunt and may even make a trip to one of the few remaining  shops that haven’t closed due to the recession. In fact, I could visit one of the Ski Wear shops which are proving very popular, with queues of people outside who have all realised that it would be cheaper to walk around the house in Sallopettes, Snoods and Ski jackets rather than turn the heating on.