November 2006

November 30, 2006

Worked from home in the morning (between the session at the Whittington and the power outage, yesterday was pretty much of a washout workwise).Went out to the HSJ (Health Service Journal) awards ceremony with a few colleagues this evening. Our agency was sponsoring an award for the health trust that had done the best job of implementing a piece of our guidance. It was a black tie event, and happily I was still able to squeeze into my (stretchy) little black dress. I was seated between the chief exec and the chairman, which was a bit daunting at first, but actually pretty good fun, and a chance to get to know them a bit outside of work.

I’ve only ever been to media awards before this, which are much more cynical affairs. It was really nice to see how excited the nurses and health workers were at attending. I overheard a woman in the toilet queue say to her friend, “It’s just like the Oscars, isn’t it!” Not a lot of jollies for the underpaid, overstretched NHS workforce…

November 29, 2006

I was having a little lie down after breakfast, when out of the blue the baby made this kind of “leap” — my stomach rose about six inches. This was followed by a series of little tremors… and then nothing. “That was quite a kick!” I thought to myself, but after a good ten minutes without any movement, I got to wondering whether the baby might have had some sort of seizure or fit.Eventually I called the midwife, pretty much expecting her to say, “Oh, yes, babies do that sort of thing — it’s nothing to worry about,” but instead she suggested that I head straight down to the antenatal day unit and have the baby’s heart monitored.

They settle you back in a big comfy recliner, then arrange electrodes on your belly to pick up the baby’s heart beat and movements. You also get a little remote to press every time you feel a movement. They monitored me for about half an hour, during which time I had four (painless) contractions, and the baby made umpteen movements. According to the printout, she was more active than 84% of babies monitored, but given that you generally go for monitoring when the baby isn’t moving enough, that didn’t surprise me.

I expected that to be it, but a consultant came along to do an ultrasound scan on the baby’s brain. He skated the thing around on my belly for a good ten minutes, without saying a word, just sucking on his teeth and plotting measurements on the little screen. Eventually he looked up and announced, “There’s a lot of fluid on the baby’s brain.” “That sounds bad,” I said. “Well, there is supposed to be fluid on the brain,” he said. “So it’s good?” “Well, your baby has 9mm of fluid and there should be between 5-10mm. I want to show these results to the specialist and we’ll call you back if we need to follow up.” So I don’t know whether to be concerned or not. These certainly don’t spend much time teaching these guys bedside manner…

Arrived home to discover there was a massive power outage. In this era of electric telephones, the only way to call the electricity company was on my nearly flat mobile. We’d arranged to have Viva back to play, but she was in a funny sort of mood, and wanted to go home with her little brother and nanny instead. Just as well given the lack of power, but Nova was disappointed. “Let’s go to Fay and Pasc’s to make my afternoon less terrible,” she suggested. They were busy assembling their artificial Christmas tree in the gathering gloom. We’d just lit all the candles we could find and made ourselves a cup of tea on the gas stove when the power came back…

November 28, 2006

Got a lousy start this morning, and was late getting in. As is my habit these day, I bought two punnets of satsumas from the fruit stand outside Holborn Tube. I have an insatiable appetite for satsumas at the moment, and easily eat a punnet (12 or so) a day. Bought a glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut as well…Walked over to Terroni’s on my lunch break to buy ditalini. It’s a great Italian deli, and I got a nice panini sandwich too. (Now that I’m getting a bit of a break from the sickness/indigestion, food seems to figure pretty large in this pregnancy).

November 27, 2006

Twenty four more work days, not that I’m counting…
Feeling ropy again this morning, but at least I got a seat on the tube. Had a browse round New Look on my lunch hour — I need to find a cover up for the dress I’m planning to wear to an awards ceremony later this week. It’s quite low cut and I want something to make it a bit more matronly.It’s funny how all the fashions this season are pretty much maternity wear — great voluminous tops, sweater dresses, leggings, empire waists on everything. I bought this great black smock/dress to wear with leggings, and a little sparkly black cardie to cover the plunging necklines and spaghetti straps of my dress.

I made sausages with cabbage and borlotti beans for dinner. It’s a very nice recipe — I should try it on Nova, as she seems open to trying new foods at the moment…

November 26, 2006

Nova and Adam had their football and fairies party this afternoon. In spite of my assertion that I was going to stay right out of it, I did end up doing some of the preparations before making myself scarce.I spent a couple of hours clearing out the garage, sorting through boxes of books and bags of baby clothes. We gave a lot of the new baby stuff back to Jules and Mary once Nova had outgrown it, but there was still plenty. I got rid of lots of books as well, mainly duplicates, or things that just don’t interest me any more.

We’d bought a big tub of Hama beads and some templates to keep the girls busy, and apparently they were a great success — keeping the girls quiet and occupied for over an hour…

November 25, 2006

It was rainy this morning. Nova used it as an excuse to cry off football, and went round to play at Ruby’s instead. We picked up Nova, Ruby and Jemima at noon and drove to Giraffe in Hampstead for lunch.It was really pelting it down by this point, and we had no trouble finding parking near the restaurant. It’s not much fun browsing the streets of Hampstead Village in the pouring rain. We were a bit early, so popped up to the Rosslyn Deli, which actually stocks butterscotch chips and marshmallow cream (at exorbitant prices, though no more expensive than it would be to post them from Canada).

Lunch was pretty good, though the cannellini beans in my soup were tough and undercooked. Nova ate up well; Ruby had egg and chips, with an order of chips for dessert. It was good to spend some time with Jemima. Things have felt a bit awkward since I got pregnant. She’d love to have a second child as well, and it hasn’t worked out for them so far. I feel a bit funny discussing things with her, especially as most of it is complaining about how lousy I feel.

Speaking of feeling lousy, today was a mediocre day at best, and I took to my couch like a Victorian consumptive when we got home…

November 24, 2006

Adam and I did a surgical strike on Brent Cross this morning — he did the groceries while I cruised round Marks and Spencers, John Lewis, Hennes, WH Smith etc. I want to get the parcels to Canada off this weekend, and managed for get pretty much everything I need for that. I like the discipline Canada post deadlines, then Hannukah imposes on me. It breaks the Christmas whirlwind that sweeps through December into three distinct phases.Stopped in Golder’s Green for a takeaway falafel on the way home, which was a nice treat, but left me with no appetite for dinner. Adam was out seeing a band (his third night out this week…). I got the Canada parcels wrapped and ready to go, which is always satisfying…

November 22, 2006

For today’s team meeting, I’d put together a mini away-day sort of agenda — what does e-media mean, blue sky thinking around how the website should develop, brainstorming around ways to improve working processes and interaction with other teams. We captured some good stuff, and it made a change from the usual updates and round of complaints.Left early so I could pick up Nova from school. Picked up Fay as well, though there was a little confusion about where to meet her. Purple class was dark and empty by the time we got there, and I had a moment of panic before finding Fay waiting outside on the stairs.

She talked ten to the dozen about the school nativity play, and poor Nova was unable to get a word in edgewise. I could see her getting more and more frustrated, until she finally said “Fay, stop telling so much!

November 19, 2006

Ben, Michaela and the girls came round for our annual Thanksgiving lunch. Michaela is American, and we generally celebrate Thanksgiving somewhere in October or November. While Adam was off at the swimming pool with Nova, I pulled together a roast lunch for seven: blini with smoked salmon and beetroot puree to start; nut loaf and veggie sausages with gravy; roast potatoes; slow cooked red cabbage; steamed brussels, carrots and leek in horseradish dressing; steamed broccoli. Michaela brought apple and pumpkin pies.It was a nice afternoon. The girls got on quite nicely, although Aphra had to be reminded a few times not to exclude Poppy. Four year old Poppy is actually much closer to Nova’s age than seven year old Aphra, but seems very young compared to Nova for some reason…

I would have happily skipped dinner, but Nova was having none of it. “Since we had a dinnery lunch, let’s have a lunchy dinner!” she suggested brightly, and that’s what we did — come crudites, hummus, olives, cheese and crackers.

I’m getting to that stage in the pregnancy where I let out an involuntary “ooof” when I sit down. “Why do you say ‘ooof’ in that burpy old voice, mum?” Nova asked me this evening.

November 18, 2006

Back to feeling crap again… Adam went off to get Nova about 10am, and we all mooched around the house ’til after lunch, though it was a glorious day.Set off about 1pm for a Heath walk. Ordinarily, we would have walked from the house, but I wanted the car to hand in case I needed somewhere to hole up. Actually, I didn’t feel any worse upright than I did on the couch. We bumped into some old friends of Adam’s at the Kenwood Cafe, and strolled round the Kenwood grounds with them. Parrots swooping and twittering in the trees — they always seem a bit incongruous in leafy north London, especially on such a wintery afternoon.

Had Nick and Jane up for dinner. Cooked a Jamaican meal — started with dark n’ stormies (or rather they would have been if we had the right brand of rum — basically, they were Moscow Mules with rum instead of vodka), followed by veggie curry and homemade roti. The Roti were too thick to roll but they made a nice base for the curry. Sat around chatting afterwards until baby Frea summoned them with a few loud squawks. That’ll be our life soon…

November 17, 2006

Felt better again today… I seem to be about fifty-fifty these days…
Had a good clear out, especially in our room, where the baby with spend her first six to nine months. We need to clear out the table area of the room, so we can set up the cot and change table. I’m also emptying out the dresser drawers as well, so we have somewhere to keep the baby’s sleepsuits etc…Nova had a sleepover at Evelyns this evening, and we went round to Ben Schneider’s for dinner. It was just him, his new girlfriend and the two of us. She’s very quiet, and it took some energy to keep the conversation going. Adam said afterward, that he felt he was working harder than he usually had to. The food was great as always — squid with a spicy coconut sauce; brill with mash and sauteed veg; vodka lemon sorbet with blueberries. Home about midnight…

November 16, 2006

Adam worked at home today, and we did the Waitrose shop together. Just as well, as I’m feeling pretty crap. I had to have a couple of little rests as we worked our way around. There was quite a big list, what with the Thanksgiving dinner we’re hosting on Sunday.I had a nap in the afternoon, which left me feeling a bit livelier. Christine took Nova to ballet, returning a favour we did for her a couple of weeks back. After dinner I did piano practice with Nova. She’s a lot keener to practice than I ever remember being, and is getting quite good…

November 15, 2006

Worked from home today. I had Iots of energy for once, and it’s amazing how much more I can get done when I don’t feel sick… I broke off to pick up Nova, then worked through until five.Nova has started on her scrapbook project. We’re printing out photos of all her family members and sticking them in her book, and she’s going to write something about each person.

November 14, 2006

Happy birthday Wade!
Went on a recruitment training course today, which should come in handy as there’s lots of recruiting going on in my team over the next few months. We have nine people in E-media — two have recently resigned, I’m going on maternity leave, and as we plan to start with internal recruitment for all but the most junior post, there is likely to be a cascade effect of vacancies throughout the team. I don’t mind recruiting, and while I learned some good stuff from the course, it was also reassuring to discover that my interview technique, shortlisting skills etc are already quite good.Out to the cinema with Pasc and Trish tonight. I wanted to see Breaking and Entering with Juliette Binoche and Jude Law, but was outvoted and we ended up seeing Borat, which is Sacha Baron Cohen — the comedian who played Ali G — pretending to be a journalist from Kazakhstan reporting from America. People think it’s hilariously funny, but it just didn’t do it for me. I think the main problem was mixing the fictional storyline about Borat and his trip with the “interviews”, where he interacts with real Americans, and makes them look foolish. While Pasc and Trish both thought the Americans came off very badly, were real idiots etc., I had more sympathy for them, and thought they were actually incredibly polite and accommodating to this obnoxious little bastard who did things like return from the toilet with his shit in a plastic baggy, or start spouting complete rubbish when being interview for local television. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for it…

November 13, 2006

Terrible journey this morning… Sometimes the walk to the tube is enough to get my motion sickness going, and I was already feeling crap by the time I was standing on the platform. All the seats were taken, and the people sittiing in front of me were busy burning holes through their newspapers with their eyes. As soon as the train started swaying I began to feel sick and woozy, and was planning to get off at the next station when a man a ways down the car offered me his seat.Once at work, it took me a while to return to equilibrium. I’m counting down the work days now — 30 more working days, which means 20 more commutes (40 journeys).

November 12, 2006

Went to the swimming pool with Nova and Adam. I wasn’t up to actual swimming, especially after the roundabouts and speed bumps enroute, but changed into my suit and lounged in a deck chair. Nova scrabbles furiously to keep her head above water, and can manage quite a good distance that way, although I could see her little heart hammering in her chest when she clambered out to see what I thought.Ate lunch in cafe, then dropped Nova at Oskar’s party for the afternoon. I had a good clear out, concentrating on Nova’s room,and was quite pleased with the result until she returned from the party with a big bag of leaves and sticks they’d picked up in the woods to make pictures with, and a great chunk of chipboard to glue them onto. Honestly, she fills up the house as fast as I can clear it…

Smoked salmon pasta for dinner, and a quiet evening reading…

November 11, 2006

Remembrance day today. When I lived in Canada, I was quite observant of Rembrance day, and would often attend the ceremony at the cenotaph. The Iraq war has changed my attitude towards it… But also, I find the way the British celebrate it strange. The 11th isn’t a holiday — they just hold a service on the nearest Sunday. Until the last few years, they didn’t even bother with a two minute silence at 11:11 on the day.Went to a family drawing workshop at the National Gallery. We all collected in front of a Dutch seascape, and after a little lecture, pitched for the twenty or thirty kids, we all set to trying to draw ships (tricky) and what we saw in the clouds. Nova really enjoyed it, and produced two terrific drawings. Had a little look at the collection afterwards. Nova is very keen on crucifixions, and those Rubenesque goddesses, like those in the Judgement of Paris. Saw Holbein’s The Ambassadors, the one with the skewed perspective skull lurking in the foreground (which features in her children’s art book). I particularly enjoyed the Leonardo cartoon, which I remember seeing with mum when we visited in 1987. They had it in a darkened little viewing room, and we sat for a long time looking at it. I’m pretty sure someone shot it a few years back, and they now have it in a public gallery behind a thick sheet of (likely bulletproof) glass.

Watched the Godfather III this evening. It’s not much of a film, and Sofia Coppola’s acting is astonishingly wooden — the blindness of parents I guess… You could have put a paper bag over Andy Garcia’s head and he would still have conveyed more emotion in their “love scenes”. Nicholas Cage (another Coppola) appeared in the credits, but we couldn’t recall seeing him in the film…

November 10, 2006

Still feeling crappy… it took a major effort of will to get off the couch and go do the weekly Waitrose shop. I had to abandon my trolley part way round, and sit on the benches by the cashiers with the little old ladies.I’m still struggling to find things I want to eat, and broadened out my shop with that in mind, buying taramasalata, V8 juice, different cheeses, English muffins, a little melton mowbray pie — slightly healthier stodge basically. Curiously enough, Adam came home with a melton mowbray pie he’d impulsed purchased at Borough Market this afternoon…

Had the Franklyns’ round for dinner — I kept it simple with chips/salsa/guacamole; turkey enchiladas and salad; and this chocolate cake that has only two ingredients — melted chocolate and whipped cream — fold the one into the other and chill.

Fay came round and had a sleepover with Nova (who was late getting back from Ben W’s party). I made up a little double bed for them on the floor, and they looked adorable tucked in together…

November 9, 2006

Still not feeling right… I managed some housework during the day, but hit a real low in the afternoon. I staggered up to the school to collect Nova, shepherded her to ballet, wrestled her into her leotard and tutu, then collapsed in Cafe Nero for the next half hour before reversing the whole performance.Heard the most unbelievable story on the news this evening. Apparently, a 12 year old girl in Manchester had a sex offender living under her bed for three months without her parent’s knowledge. Resisted the temptation to check under Nova’s bed when I checked on her in the night…

November 8, 2006

Awake in the night, listening to the returns from the US midterm elections on the World Service. Looks like good news for the Democrats — and the rest of the world — especially if they take control of the Senate as well. Although there’s no way of fixing the mess in Iraq, but maybe they can get rid of that bloody John Bolton at the UN, and the neocon lunatics they’ve been appointing to international health and environmental committees.Worked from home today (with regular lie downs) — I think I’m feeling worse than yesterday. The broken sleep doesn’t help — I definitely felt better after my two hour nap in the late afternoon. I was feeling well enough to go along to my “in-and-out club” evening at Maj’s house. Everyone brought something to eat, and there was a lovely spread of bread, proscuitto, dips, cheeses, salad, fruit… “Did you eat before you came?” Pasc asked. “I had a cup of soup,” I said. Stunned disbelief from Pasc and Alicia — “You’d never eat a cup-a-soup!” they exclaimed.

I do have a reputation as a “foodie”, and as someone who makes things from scratch: soup, bread, biscuits, dishcloths… But I certainly grew up eating instant foods, and retain a fondness for some. Mom was pretty big on healthy eating as well, regularly making granola, bread and soups, but “convenience” food figured pretty large in our diet, particularly:

• Kraft slices, CheezWhiz, Squeeze-a-Snack
• bologna, weiners, chicken loaf, Spam
• cup-a-soup, tinned soups, tinned fruit, tinned veg
• frozen pizza
• Koolaid, Tang, Jello
• cake mixes, Dad’s cookies

Products she drew the line at were:

• sugary cereals (Cap’n Crunch, Count Chocula etc) — nothing but Rice Krispies and Cornflakes for us
• tinned puddings
• “junk food” like pop and chips

November 7, 2006

Conversation between Nova and Simonia overheard this afternoon: “Guess what I did this morning, Simonia? I made my bed all by myself! Mummy was very pleased. She was liberated!” Not quite sure what she meant by that… she’ll often try out words she’s come across, and sometimes gets them a bit muddled up — unless of course, she’s a budding feminist…Feeling a bit better today — at least I got out of my pajamas. Find myself wondering if I have a “mild flu-like illness”, which is how the listeria is described (the most risky infection a pregnant woman can get, right up there with German measles). I don’t really think so… it’s pretty much how I’ve been feeling for the past four months.

Went to Nova’s parent-teacher night. It was reassuring to see how well organised Mrs Adjei is — all Nova’s classwork is carefully filed in neat little books, and she’s clearly aware of Nova’s personality and abilities. According to her, Nova is by far the best reader in the class, and they haven’t put her in a reading group as it would hold her back. They are assessing the literacy levels of the both year 1 classes this month, and there may be someone in the other class who she can team up with, although her teacher thinks it’s unlikely. Nova’s at the top of the class in arithmetic as well, though there are a few other children at about the same level. She’s well behaved, cooperative, and integrates well with the other children. So, all good news… Not like last year, where I used to wonder if they even knew which child Nova was…

November 6, 2006

Well, I didn’t go to work today… If anything, I felt worse than yesterday, and in spite of going to bed early still managed to have a lousy sleep. I didn’t even get out of my pajamas all day, and wore them over to Pasc’s house when I dropped in for a cup of tea.Adam worked at home today, frantically trying to finish off some work for one client and get ready for his business trip to Germany. He set off about 5pm… Brought Nova into our room when I went to bed — it’s something I often do when Adam’s away, as it’s a treat for her.

November 5, 2006

Not enough sleep… the refrain of my life (and this is before the baby is born)…No energy to do much — I felt a bit sick all day actually. I’m trying not to recall the details of that partridge… I did cook us a nice dinner: tuna chowder and a chestnut pudding with chocolate sauce (though there was too much rum in the pudding for Nova and me). Went to bed about 7pm and stayed there… I’m not going to work tomorrow if I still feel like this.

November 4, 2006

Nova went off to football quite willingly this morning, and I went off less willingly to Brent Cross. I was armed with a shopping list:

• school tights for Nova
• anorak for Nova
• more girly school trousers for Nova
• birthday presents for Simonia, and two boys in Nova’s class
• maternity leggings
• butter dish
• sofa cushions

It took me three hours, but I got everything but the sofa cushions. I think I’m getting to be a better shopper. I used to be allergic to shopping centres, and get feeling claustrophobic if I was in them for more than an hour, overwhelmed by all the piles of stuff and aggressive, bag laden people. Also, there’s something about them that make my eyes hurt — either the fluorescent lighting or maybe some chemical in all that new stuff… Anyway, since Nova’s been born I’ve built up my resistance, and can now manage a half a day…

Pete, Pasc and the kids came round for afternoon tea. Fay and Nova disappeared off into her bedroom, but Sid’s always at a bit of a loose end around here. He’ll play with Nova’s animals or maybe watch a documentary on TV, but there’s not much for him to do. One of the reasons the girls we so quiet in Nova’s room was because they were painting each other’s faces — Nova as a dalmation, and Fay as a tiger. Did a pretty good job actually…

Went to Jane and Gerry’s for dinner. Their daughters Ray and Elsie are quite a bit older than Nova (11 and 9) but they’ve always been very sweet with her. (There was a stage when Elsie viewed her as an oversized doll and tried to carry her everywhere, but that has passed…)

Gerry is quite a foodie, and had planned an ambitious menu: cold sauteed baby beets with fennel and slices of raw porcini mushrooms with parmesan shavings to start; roast partridges with bruschetta, mashed parsnip and roast cherry tomatoes; a chicory-caper salad; and pears in red wine with ice cream for dessert. I’m pretty sure the partridges were undercooked — they resisted all efforts to cut them (the butter knives we were issued with practically bounced off them) and had to be dismembered with our bare hands. The leg joints were quite bloody as well… I ate a bit of it, but mostly snuck the pieces I’d ripped off back into the cavity until it was packed solid, and managed to hide some more under the carcass…

Nova was a real trooper — she tried the beets and the parmesan; everything on her dinner plate (she probably ate more partridge than I did); and even a bit of the chicory, which is quite bitter.

Settled the girls in bed about 9:30, with a DVD of My Fair Lady, and visited downstairs for another few hours before heading home.

November 3, 2006

Anne is in the hospital at the moment… John called an ambulance a couple of nights ago. She hadn’t been eating, and was weak and disoriented. She’s been on a drip and they are doing lots of tests. We’d hoped she be coming home today, but they’ve decided to keep her through the weekend.Nova made her a get well card, containing such gems as a big “sick again” on the front cover, and a message on the inside that said “I hope you get well soon, but the best thing about being sick is that all the people in the lane get you things, Love Nova”. The directness of children…

It was Bonfire night at the school. Got there about 6:30 — Nova had already eaten at Viva’s house, but that didn’t stop her demolishing a sausage sandwich and candy apple. They’d built an enormous bonfire with a guy on top, who’s head was just catching fire as we arrived. (I’d had the whole Guy Fawkes conversation with Nova a couple of days ago, about how he tried to blow up the parliament buildings. All she was interested in was whether he was dead. “Good,” she said, “then he won’t try to do it again!”)

Great fireworks display — I’ve always loved fireworks. Dad would often set them off on the front lawn after we’d finished trick or treating. Another thing that made Halloween my favourite holiday.

November 2, 2006

Trooped back to the Whittington for an appointment with the midwives. I’d opted for midwife antenatal care, but with this whole diabetes track they are pursuing I seem to be getting a lot of doctor’s appointments as well… Anyway, things are as good as they were on Monday…Did the weekly Waitrose shop. We’ve really been scraping the bottom of the freezer and pantry since coming back from holiday, and poor Nova’s lunches have been pretty dull. Speaking of lunches, Adam took me out for a very nice one at the Bull down the hill from the school. We went for the two course lunch special: we both had the coq au vin, then I had the fresh fig tart and he had the selection of cheeses.

All that fine food knocked me out and I had to have an afternoon lie down. Adam took Nova to ballet for a change — something he isn’t usually able to do, as he’s normally at the Body Shop on Thursdays.

Made “little fishes” for dinner — a kiddie-friendly version of kedgeree (curried rice with smoked haddock and prawns). Nova’s mostly interested in the little toast fishes I decorate the top with.

Still feeling zonked — I was awake from 4:30am this morning. We started Godfather II, but I couldn’t stay awake…

November 1, 2006

Rabbits…
It’s cold this morning — someone seems to have flipped a switch, weatherwise. Clear and bright — dazzling blue skies and yellow plane tree leaves…I worked from home today — not too many phone meetings, which is good. Made the jack-o-lantern into pumpkin soup. It’s funny with Nova — she’ll eat pretty much anything in soup form… Ate dinner together early before Adam headed off to the Arsenal game.

I made a batch of baking powder biscuits to go with the soup. Mom had me make them day after day, and I still know the recipe from scratch. Quite a useful recipe to know — it can be sweetened a bit and turned into scones, rolled out flat as a pizza base, or baked in little balls on top of a stew.

Nova was in a silly mood this evening. She showed me her “crazy dancing”, which is basically throwing herself around the room like a lunatic, falling about, hitting herself with pillows etc. I provided the soundtrack — Maniac (from Flashdance). Next we played the kitten game, where she crawls around chasing a string, and then I give her a saucer of milk to lap up.

Once Nova was down I had a bath and an early night.