It’s that time of year again, where I watch the front door expectantly, awaiting the arrival of the postman, and then shedding a small tear as he walks past the front gates of Mercuryvapour Towers, and I once again, notch up another mark on the “Years without a Valentines Card” scoreboard.

But that’s irrelevant. It means that I don’t have to spend any money either, so that’s a plus point I suppose.

Sigh.

So, what’s been happening since the last proper update? Well, you may remember that I mentioned doing overtime. This went surprisingly well. It was the first time in a good while where I’ve actually sat at my desk and NOT thought “Well, this sucks”.

There seemed to be a good atmosphere, brightened by the inclusion of a little fairy cake delivery by the makers of our database software. I even offered to do some overtime the following day, by working from home. This was something I thought I’d never do. It was incredible. I really enjoyed it. Now that’s probably because it’s the novelty factor, and the fact I can listen to what I wanted and know I wouldn’t be disturbed by someone asking me an inane question every time I begin to look at the monitor, and I know that the computer is going to work. Oh, and the fact that I did the first hour whist completely bollock naked.

Therefore, my “high score” is 158 in 3 hours.

Just as I was “finishing off”, for want of a better phrase, I looked out of the window, and noticed it had began snowing. And snow it did.

Within a few hours, it had accumulated to a few inches, as proven by my primitive, yet accurate masuring device…

Andy The Iridium Fan also went out and took some photos, which are now in their own gallery. It still amazes me how clean Hartlepool looks when it gets sprinkled with a little snow.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the aftermath, when all of that snow melts in such a small period of time. The streets become horrible, slushy rivers. and with the drop in temperature, this slush freezes over, leaving the paths about as slippery as a well-buttered ice rink. Nice.

I almost broke my neck going down to the shops and back.