progress

The rubbish bins are out today, out in the street awaiting collection. That will be later on in the day. Perhaps at eleven. Go down the alley to the police station, but turn right before reaching it. The car is parked there. It is not covered in snow, there is just some at the junction betweeen the windscreen and the bonnet. Unlock the car, open the door and get the orange plastic scraper and remove the ice and snow from the windscreen wipers.

Leave the town, drive slowly in the heavy traffic. It is fifty kilometres to work, thirty of these on the Autobahn and the rest on those trunk roads. Drive carefully, the car is not equipped with snow tyres. This is not really legal, but for those few days of cold weather that climate change has left us with it is hardly worth it.

Arriving at work it is properly light, the radio says that it is ten past eight in the morning. The parking space is snowbound, take care not to brake suddenly.

The pendulum in the entrance hall has stopped.

The university is silent compared to the usual activity

In the office there is a small box on the table, there is a note on it. Read the note, it is a device from the boss, to copy all the data from the last three years. All the pictures, all need to be copied. Three years ago, no device this small would have held them all.

That is progress