The first day of December

So it is now December. Calendars have been turned over to reveal a final, snow-draped scene. The first Advent chocolates have finally been consumed. Three weeks left of school before the holiday. Christmas lists have been made - in one case, "version 1.0" has emerged, beautifully turquoise, from a computer in an ordered collection, containing this gem:

8. Money and vouchers

        (a) Money

        (b) Vouchers

Christmas came early for me today, in the shape of an idyllic lunch away from the office with Karen - who arrived bearing two review copies, one of The Minds Eye by Hakan Nesser (appropriately wintery cover), and the other of A Lonely Place by Mari Jungstedt (a rather similar cover which you can imagine as being wintery if you squint at it). Thanks, Karen! I hope your journey home was pleasant and that the train was driven carefully;-)