An eighty-year-old patient said to me this morning, "You seem very happy in your work". I thanked him for the compliment. Or I would have done if he hadn't said it just as I was photographing his retina, thus jogging the camera and forcing me to take the photo again. I wasn't quite so happy after that.

To be honest, I think I'm giving out some kind of false impression. I met Lisa's Mum walking along the road at 9am yesterday, and she told me that she couldn't believe how cheerful I was first thing on a Monday morning. I told her it's all a charade and deep down inside I'm weeping tears of hopelessness. She seemed to accept that quite readily.

But let's face it, sometimes it's just nice to be out of the house. You wouldn't want to spend all day with people who constantly feel blue...


I think she's getting her make-up tips from Lisa.

Amelie's only had her coloured pencils since Saturday, but she's really taken to them. Mostly she's taken them internally, but she's also produced a few colourful drawings. Some on paper, some on the coffee table. But most impressive of all is that she's learnt to say the word 'picture'. Unfortunately she pronounces it 'pik-CHAAA'. She sounds like Len Goodman shouting "Seven!" on Strictly Come Dancing. It's slightly unsettling.

Linguistically she's taken a big step forward this week, as she's also formed her first sentence. Well, phrase. Verbs are still beyond her. She can now say "In a bowl". It's a phrase which should take her a long way in life. Michael Winner gets by on a lot less.

Unfortunately she's learnt those words as a result of Lisa repeatedly giving her raisins in a bowl. Which is a problem if you're in a supermarket with her, as I was after work last night, and you give her a small box of raisins. I found myself wheeling the buggy down the frozen fish aisle as Amelie looked at me sternly and shouted "In a bowl!". I almost had to buy a dinner service just to placate her.