Mr G had requested me to finish off the gardening work with some compost he was going to buy, unfortunately the shops have replaced the shelves with Christmas stock. So a social visit was arranged instead.

As it was Christmas I popped into his local shop on the way to buy some mince pies but there was not one to be found. I had to compromise with a chocolate log to go with our cup of tea.

Going inside meant I got the chance to meet his 13 year old cocker spaniel so we compared dog notes. We then got onto storage heaters, other heating devises and electric bills. Before we knew it we were discussing world energy solutions!

A lot of topics were covered in an hour as I cycled off back to work, gingerly, in case I hit any black ice.