After spending yesterday lecturing the nation of the importance of a balanced diet, today was my work Christmas lunch at Colman’s Fish & Chips in South Shields – a restaurant apparently frequented by David Miliband. We had a great time – and I say that as someone who doesn’t even like fish!

This is one of my radios. I’ve spent a while “inside” it today doing interviews with BBC Tees, Newcastle and Merseyside, Real Radio and LBC today. It was my first radio interviewee experience, and I was talking about the paper I wrote with Jean Adams and Martin White of Fuse (they also did several times more interviews than I did!)

I think my interviews went okay, and I’d definitely be less nervous about doing them in future… which is lucky, as I’ve more lined up tomorrow!

I was just thinking to myself that there should be a rule that when this is the view from your office window, you’re allowed to go home. How did I ever manage nights?

Since I’m a photo behind and need to make up the numbers, and since I’m on a roll of Christmas-retail themed moans…

How insulting is this Argos campaign?! In the spirit of equality, I look forward to next year’s “Keep Calm Women” follow-up. I assume it will perpetuate a ditzy, dim, over-excitable, self-obsessed stereotype of women that’s as insulting as the lazy, dunderheaded, disorganised, misogynist stereotype of men perpetuated this year by retailers like Argos and Asda.

But I like to think that they will see sense and reflect the reality of 21st century life in the UK. After all, isn’t this the season of hope?

It seems that WHSmith have started their Easter campaign. Depressing, isn’t it? And I would (perhaps naively) have thought that reminding consumers of another retail-driven spending spree around the corner would depress Christmas spending.

But with a mere 106 days left for customers to get their hands on some themed chocolate, who can blame them for trying?

I’ve complained about Tesco piling up alcohol at the entrance before, as it really doesn’t strike me as responsible marketing. But today, the display was the biggest I’ve seen. I struggled to take a photo – as you can see – that captured the amount of alcohol there was on offer.

It’s interesting that Asda agreed in 2011 to stop this kind of thing, and Morrisons has started putting fruit and veg offers at the front of their stores, yet Tesco still persists with an attitude of pile-them-remarkably-high and sell-them-remarkably-cheap when it comes to alcohol.

This is the building I was heading to in Sunderland yesterday… I did eventually arrive!

Spotted in Sunderland earlier today whilst completely lost! I always get lost when I go to Sunderland city centre… it’s as if they’ve not yet discovered directional signage for pedestrians!

Wendy and I have been writing Christmas cards tonight. Most years, we’d have had them sent out about a week ago, but we seem to be running late on most Christmas preparations this year! And we didn’t even manage to get the cards finished tonight!

I had a slight panic that they might be just too big for a normal stamp, too. But having measured very carefully with the official Royal Mail size guide, I’m confident that they don’t quite need large letter stamps – though it’s a close run thing. Let’s hope I’m right, or we’re about to annoy quite a lot of people with excess postage charges!

Wendy bought me this brilliantly whimsical money box a few years ago now… I think it’s great!