The country is returning to normal, but to be quite frank if I hadn't been to the pub twice I wouldn't have noticed much of a difference. I work from home. I've seen are the post returning to a normal delivery schedule and perhaps a slacker approach to the two-metre rule and even the new one-metre rule. Things will return to normal soon enough.

1. Quote of the week

"Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free." -- Dalai Lama

2. What I've been enjoying/doing in free time

Not a great deal to be frank. I repaired my clippers and used a soldering iron for the first time. I managed to get out on the bike once this week. I'm on a one-meal-a-day diet and spend the tail-end of the week in ketosis. I'm usually quite sluggish when I start the rides, but about 40 minutes in I get a wind of energy. I can go for 2 hours without problems. Getting out in the air on the bike is great. It's exercise but there are no distractions, so it is possible to think without disruption.

I like being on the diet too - it makes me feel better generally.

3. What I'm reading

I finished Gil Amelio’s On the Firing Line last Sunday. I enjoyed reading it a second time and I'd forgotten a lot of the detail from last time. According to the book, he made various organisational changes and started the negotiations with Microsoft that would later be credited to Steve J. Apple was is dreadful shape when Gil took over and by the end of his tenure, it had money in the bank.

For reading this week, I've picked up Viking Britain: A History again and I'm progressing through it. In parallel, I'm reading a chapter of Site Reliability Engineering every morning at the beginning of the day, unless something urgent pops up.

I am studying a teaching course which requires a lot of reading (see below). I have a tendency to pick up a new book and start it, even if I have a book on the go and I need to get out of this habit. Often it is because the book on the go has become slightly tedious. But I've restricted myself to a book for leisure, a book for learning out of work and a book for work - this is obviously still too much, but a step in the right direction.

5. What I'm learning more about

I've recently started a Teacher Training course. It will lead to a level 3 qualification (equivalent to A-level). I'm not finding it particularly difficult, but I'm learning a lot. Many people assume they know about teaching, largely because most people have been to school, but there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. The course approach is to read sections of a coursebook (Gravells, The Award in Education and Training), do further Internet research and write essays. I have a tendency to write longer essays than needed and I will have to get tamer in the interests of time, but I'm well on my way to completing the first unit.