Mon 24th Nov.

Oops, I drink coffee with milk at today’s coffee morning. Whilst discussing which biscuits I can and can’t eat, I completely forget about the milk thing and happily take my mug of coffee with milk, drink it, talk about how well the vegan diet is going and enthusiastically accept another mug of milky coffee! How silly is that? And, even though I thought about it briefly earlier, I haven’t brought soya milk with me. Is it because I’ve just become too blasé about the whole business, or what? Well, obviously I need to be more careful now.

It’s gratifying, however, that during our conversation Jo tells me how well I’m looking on the vegan diet. I must say, I do feel pretty good. My energy levels are, I think, a little higher than usual. As I mentioned before, I’m not waking up feeling uncomfortably bloated. And I swear I’m feeling happier and more optimistic than usual. Maybe this is not only due to the diet, but comes partly from the therapeutic effect of writing. Or from having a change in my lifestyle? Who knows? But it makes me want to continue to write, and to retain more of a vegan ethos in my future diet. I think that if I took more exercise too I could be super-duper-healthy.

Lunch, then. Another spelt-sunflower cutlet, with tinned tomatoes and baked beans mixed together, left over from yesterday’s breakfast fry-up. Oh, and a raw carrot thrown in for good measure.

Preparations for the trip to Brussels begin with tonight’s cooking. I do a double portion of vegemince, which we can have with rice tonight and spaghetti tomorrow. This will allow me time tomorrow to cook a casserole in advance for Wednesday. Paul’s parents are coming to look after the kids and I’m trying to make it as stress free as possible for them. This way, at least they won’t have to cook the first night they’re here.

Time to start looking up the delights of Brussels on the internet. Paul hands me a brochure about the hotel. Ooh, definitely posher than a Travelodge.