Today, I have a guest. Fellow writer Jeannette Cook has graciously allowed me to reproduce here the exercise she read out at the writers’ group yesterday evening. Marvellous stuff!

Recipe for today

1 shower
1 large coffee
2 children (woken up, teeth brushed, hair combed, faces washed, breakfasted, suitably dressed for the weather, with backpacks)
1 trip to supermarket
20 minutes of yoga
10 minutes of frustrated searching for item of your choice: keys, agenda, mobile phone, clean shirt blouse
5 hours of day job
10-15 minutes of worry when one or other of children does not phone you on their way home from school
1 round-trip commute
1 phone call to cello teacher
1 phone call to change hour of horseriding lessons
1 hour catching up on email
1 dinner to make
1 cake to make
1 overdue dentist appointment to schedule, but ignore that for now
30 minutes x 2 of instrument practice
60 minutes x 2 of homework
2 baths
4 wet towels
More coffee,
Or wine, if it is after 7
Either very good book or very bad television

Mix together till your arms fall off.