My friend Tim has been busy…

Dull Men's Club - the 'mundane' Facebook group that became an unlikely hit bbc.com

Luxury flats newly built by the canal.

The absence of windows on the sides of the blocks is presumably so that the residents don’t have to see the people in the poor houses next door.

A canal lined with leafless trees and buildings is reflected in the water, alongside a grassy path under a cloudy sky.A canal lined with bare trees runs alongside a path and unique, blocky buildings on a cloudy day.Modern, multi-story apartment buildings are reflected in a calm body of water on a cloudy day.

Our little tree now has lights.

Kids were excited but chilling out now to carols.

A decorated Christmas tree is illuminated with colorful lights and topped with a glowing star, set against a background that includes an alphabet chart and a few framed photos.

Some more pizza prep and cooked pics. 🍕🍕🍕

Pizza preparation setup with dough, cheese, sauces, and toppings on a polka dot tablecloth.Pizza doughs with tomato sauce are prepared on plates and trays, surrounded by various toppings and ingredients on a polka dot tablecloth.Pizza doughs with tomato sauce are prepared on plates and trays, surrounded by various toppings and ingredients on a polka dot tablecloth.A colorful homemade pizza is topped with fresh spinach, sliced onions, cherry tomatoes, yellow bell peppers, and dollops of ricotta cheese.A colorful homemade pizza is topped with cheese, spinach, onions, cherry tomatoes, jalapeños, and dollops of white cheese or cream with herbs.Two types of pizza, one cut into rectangular slices and the other into triangular slices, are placed on separate wooden boards.A homemade pizza topped with spinach, cherry tomatoes, onion slices, and dollops of cheese is displayed on a wooden board.

Kids decorated our little xmas tree, but I left the batteries in the lights all year, so they’re ruined.

I think I might have binned the star lights I usually hang in the window - a relief as they cause a disproportionate amount of stress untangling and hanging them.

Retreated to the relative safety of the bedroom where I’m finding solace with Radiohead and OK Computer on a loop.

An airbag saved my life

Notionally returned to wfh today.

✅ Made chilli sans carne
✅ Emailed work to say I will try to ease myself back into things, but still feeling exhausted
✅ Declined work meetings on health grounds
✅ Had a three hour nap
✅ Woke just in time for a late lunch
✅ Picked kids up from school

Dua Lipa's Tiny Desk concerts

Dua Lipa’s Tiny Desk concert at home in between covid lockdowns in 2020 is the most watched Tiny Desk concert ever.

Which doesn’t surprise me at all as we must have watched it literally hundreds, if not thousands, of times.

My little boy absolutely loved it, and even me and big kid secretly liked it, too.

Love Again is my favourite.

She’s just performed a new concert at Tiny Desk HQ, and it’s also very watchable and listenable, with These Walls the standout track.

I recently read: How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy (of the band Wilco) 📚.

It’s full of practical if fairly obvious tips on how to write and get your creative muscles going.

Here’s a poem I wrote based on two books I regularly read to my little kid at bedtime.

Handwritten text of a poem titled "Astral Bodies" explores cosmic and anatomical themes.

This went down well with the missus!

Chilli salmon on a mound of boiled rice surrounded by egg noodles and stir fried vegetables in a soy and ginger sauce