LITTLE PATCHES OF BLUE

The clouds are full today. Thick cumulus, grey and white with the sun poking through and gilding the fluffy edges with silver. There are little patches of blue sky too - like tarns, crystal clear lakes in the high mountains.

I'd like to be up there, flying into that blue. At least, far above the grey shadows that switch over this landscape anyway. It isn't really the moment to be thinking about getting on a plane of course, but the thought of just quietly soaring up there? That is quietly intoxicating.

Perhaps by balloon? Imagine it - gently emerging above the clouds, round and silent, burning into the warm blue sunlight! No sounds, no stress, no worries - only what you take with you.

Balloons don't go that high do they. And they tend to fly on clear days. Let's be honest, I'm not sure the turbulence wouldn't rip the canvas apart and send the basket tumbling. I don't know enough about aviation to know, but it is a nice thought. There might be peace and quiet up there.

What I do know is that it's stressful down here, really stressful. I feel as though I'm coming to the end of my ability to work from home, as though all my creativity is being drained, and as though there are no options that are winners for me other than to ride it out. That's left me feeling completely defeated. If there were a wicker basket and a balloon steadily filling with hot air out there, I'd probably be pulling on my shoes, packing a snack-based picnic, and racing out to meet it - turbulent skies or not.

Anyway, there are only two months to go before we can go back to the office. I guess having done 13, another two ought to be manageable! The office will be weird for a while, as I've talked about before. But at least it will be different. At least I can talk to colleagues face to face. At least there's a chance I might not end the days feeling like a worn-out cog in a cold machine.

Meanwhile, you'll catch me gazing up at the little patches of blue sky that slip and flow between the clouds like water, lit by the sun and free of shadows.