Colleagues in my previous department would be surprised how early I’m getting into the office nowadays – I’ve shifted my pattern about an hour earlier. Change brings a chance to change … and if I get down by about 8:30am it is much easier to find somewhere to lock up my bike.

It has turned out to be easier than I thought it might be. The trick isn’t much to write about – just get up earlier. Duh! However, it has been my habit to wake up listening to the Today programme on Radio 4, which is very informative but very easy to drift along to in a state of semi-slumber. Cue the blue jays!

Blue jays? I’ve got an app on my phone called Woodland Alarm Clock which provides lots of North American bird calls that can be set on a timer. There was a rooster, which I found less effective than I expected, but the piercing cries of the blue jay is working wonderfully to bring me from Today into today.