Day two of the new year draws to an end: bright but cold. Forecast for rest of month is very cold, which means that the Met Office’s mild winter forecast is wrong again – unless of course their January forecast is wrong. Tricky stuff, forecasting. Only left the house once today – to post a few thank-you letters written by my conscientious wife. Took it easy generally, but did manage to install Snow Leopard on my computer. My last Christmas present arrived – Emily Smith’s latest CD. Haven’t heard all of it yet, but what I have heard sounds excellent.

Yesterday two lots of visitors. At lunchtime (but not for lunch) my nephew Sam and his wife Lucy, who are in the process of buying a house in Southampton and are rightly upbeat about the new year. In the evening the Hendersons, with whom we dined at Cafe Uno on Tombland. Uno not at their best: the meal can best be described as ordinary and the service as poor, largely because they had too few staff. It was some time before we even got a menu. Suggestion to Cafe Uno: either have enough staff on, or close the restaurant for New Year’s Day. I know, it is tricky forecasting. Paul didn’t seem at all well, but we had a good time together, walking down through the Close and glancing briefly at the new cathedral hostry before ending the evening with coffee and a look at a few pictures on our Apple TV!