Diary A lighter take on the working week.

Saturday: I wake at 7am (unintentional) but realise I won’t get back to sleep as I have the annual joy of putting together my accounts. (Listen to Snow Patrol and Lemon Jelly). By 10am, discover only paid myself half my expenses last July. Do the minutes of meetings I held with myself to vote myself dividend payments. Play golf, then review GCSE revision with eldest. She’s very relaxed.

Sunday: Report for unitary authority on integration of children’s services is not progressing. (Snow Patrol and Amy Wadge). Analysis of expenditure and funding data not coming together. But eventually some sense begins to emerge.

Monday: Grab cappuccino and jump on train (Snow Patrol and Amy Wadge again) to unitary to discuss findings and develop recommendations. Train travel gives ability to work, sleep, relax according to need and with plug sockets on most trains it becomes an extended office. Daughter’s GCSE has gone well. “Fine, no problem, don’t stress Dad”. Catch up on younger daughter’s latest instalment of who’s fallen out/in with who.

Tuesday: Train (more cappuccino, Lemon Jelly, Bruce Springsteen) to London to discuss possible project looking at best ways to support practice staff to carry out needs assessments and getting best value. Are the contract/price discussions best done by care managers or contracts specialists? How best to support staff to challenge long-term residential placements that are little more than “warehousing” but where providers have good political connections? I phone home lunchtime to wish daughter good luck for exam. Phone later to check how it went. “Fine, no problem, don’t stress”. Home 11.30 pm, check e-mails, reply where necessary.

Wednesday: Sleep through alarm and partner getting up. It’s 7.40am and I’m due on golf course in an hour. Start with no warm up and come in one under par. Go to catch train (David Grey and Amy Winehouse) to metropolitan authority to review progress on project on commissioning, valid performance indicators, full involvement of service users. Extension agreed. Home 7.30pm e-mails, continue report for unitary.

Thursday: Training with group of social care and health managers who are motivated, intelligent and stimulating. Loads of questions but few answers. Dash in evening to see Amy Wadge live. Know I’ll pay for it in morning but worth it. She’s 12 weeks pregnant, feeling lousy, but gives performance of incredible energy. Her songs are wonderfully insightful, including a new one about a letter her grandad wrote to his wife before heart surgery in case he didn’t survive. She deserves to be better known. Home 12.30.

Friday: Yes, paying for last night so have extra shot in the cappuccino. Train to London for meeting on new project. Review range of cost data on train. More caffeine required. Phone home to wish daughter luck. Home 7.30.

Saturday: Golf. Sleep. Last GCSE Monday – “Please don’t stress Dad”. A week dominated by travel, (train 1,152 miles, road 130, bus 8), music, caffeine and poor work/life balance.