MARMITE POSITION

I got to the office in Oxford this morning and realised quite quickly that I had buttoned up my shirt lop-sided.

Don’t ask me how. I guess I’d dressed at speed, given that Sammy was racing to get me to the train station on time. Under the thick layer of coat and hoodie, I hadn’t realised that one collar was tickling an ear, and the other was folded over a shoulder. I was embarrassed as I went on plugging in my laptop.

I didn’t say anything. Once I was ready, I just quietly excused myself and paced my way to the bathroom. I’m old-hat at this kind of thing, it seems.

The car got through the MOT. That was good. It was so wet though that Dave, our mechanic, couldn’t really do a service. I don’t know why it had never occurred to me that he works outside and not in some oily garage; to be honest, every year he comes over to pick my car up, and comes back with it, brandishing the key. I never really worried about what happened in between. I probably ought to! But there we are. It passed. Dave was happy.

Better news is that the Damp Surveyor doesn’t think our issue is troublesome, and he may even be able to fix it by next week. That unlocks the rest of the rebuild of the kitchen, which, if everything goes well, should be doable before Christmas. I’m determined to stay positive, but also realistic. That’s a hard balance. And I know how these things go.

Meanwhile in Oxford, a debate raged about Marmite. At least one person has never tried it and doesn’t trust it. Someone else thinks it should be spread thinly otherwise it’s kind of horrible, and one person (me) happily told them I’d scoop it out of the jar and put a teaspoon of it into a lasagna.

It wasn’t a defensible position to be honest. I was alone, with several people asking me if I really believed it would ‘change their life’. I chuckled and then conceded that I barely ever cook lasagna anyway and that when I do it falls apart into a sort of pizza soup. Marmite might not improve a better lasagna in quite the same way.

I do like my days in the office.

I think if you’ve never tried marmite by the way, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. Oh sure the Internet will describe it as ‘salty, yeasty, soy sauce with the consistency and texture of old engine oil’ … but don’t let that put you off. Spoon a dollop onto your toast and take a nice juicy bite. Delicious.

Anyway, things are good, despite the fact that I’ve forgotten how to dress myself and I had to admit that I can’t cook a decent lasagna.