Tuesday 2nd November

My alarm goes off at 7am and I immediately surprise myself by actually getting out of bed. I get dressed in shorts and yesterday's t-shirt (no need to put anything clean on just to slog up to Crouch End) and head out of the door at 7.15. It's weird being up and about at this time of day, while people jog and walk their dogs - and the unluckiest fools are already on their way to work. I get to the pool at around 7.40 and head in for a swim, only to find that the pool is busier than I had hoped. As it turns out, the dreaded HBSC have a slot booked this morning too, meaning that I have one of two lanes to pick from. One of them is very busy, the other is very fast and full of aggressive nobheads who feel the need to overtake or just swim straight down the middle of the lanes. Ah well, it was worth a go, and there's a chance that I could try a different day of the week next time.

I head home and arrive back for a shower and breakfast at around the usual time I'd be getting up - it is actually quite surprising what you can get done before work. K treats me to a boiled egg and I head off to work feeling oddly refreshed, if a little chlorine-y.

This evening I have to head to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Diseases to sell books at a lecture given by an eminent doctor (one of the few weird things I get to do in this job). I get there in good time and sell a few copies before the attendees head into the lecture theatre in this strange and compelling building near Russell Square. I sit outside reading for the hour they are inside, then shift a few more copies at the end. Unfortunately, this does leave me with 25-odd heavy hardbacks to lug back home, but I do eventually make it (albeit a bit tired and not in the best of moods).

All this exercise and working has knackered me out, and I head to bed really rather early.