Sometimes I think about abandoning papers altogether – not this one of course

I suppose this is the time for new year's resolutions and I have several, though most of them concern trips that need to be made before, well, you know, just before.

Not that I'm too despondent about the sciatica thing, even if it's been going on for ten weeks or so. Dr Wimalasundera, she of the kind, sympathetic eyes, assures me it will go away and I believe her. She seemed slightly more concerned about anaemia but I imagine switching from white wine back to bitter for a while will soon fix that.

Never drink bitter from the single pump they have in wine bars because they don't know how to keep it. I only mention this because I was offered shifts in a pleasant establishment in Bristol the other day; I'd feel out of place when the bright young things came in after work but the Doombar would be magnificent.