Over Christmas.

The final day prior to Christmas Day and I am alongside Archie on the sofa. He slept soundly once we returned from Leeds around 5pm.

We caught the bus around 1pm towards Oakwood, got off the stop prior to the junction and popped into Salt and The Melbourne, but, because Preston was closed until 3, I didn't know what to do really? Come back to Wetherby, stick about in Oakwood or catch a bus outside Preston down to Boar Lane and come back to Wetherby from there? We chose to go into Leeds, which was excellent except for two individuals who were definitely looking for conflict. The first person, in Whitelocks, I left to his politicising of music and took Archie to Friends of Ham, Bundobust and Tapped before coming back from outside on the X99. One man in Friends of Ham took a real dislike to Archie being there and literally balled at me and him to get away from him: the whole bar literally turned on him and defended Archie and me... We won't be venturing there again anyway... He's very sleepy this morning as am I... Polishing off crackers, paté and cream cheese prior to climbing up the several flights of stairs to be sleep deprived around 3 until 5. Nowt big happening today. A calm hour with Lola and Archie around nine I suppose?

***

Phew, it's over, again, for a year - until October 2023 when people obsess about absolutely nothing for a few barren months. I didn't enjoy yesterday even though I maintained a pleasant smile, for a couple of hours, at the head of that less than meaningful table.

Now all I can think of is never being here again during this period when society wastes its valuable resources on a pointless exercise in selfish gluttony...