In retrospect it was probably a little harsh of me to say treat when those two little kids answered the door. I don't know what the rules are on handing out trick or treat - there has to be some kind of regulation saying that you should hand out edible food. Unfortunately when I checked the cupboards ("Two seconds mate; I'll see what we've got" I discovered that I hadn't got anything worth handing out, and as no one else was about I had to think quickly. It never struck me that the worst trick two 8 year olds could pull on me was probably squirt me with water, I was too proud to back down anyway now.

So I went into my room and picked up the first, vaguely sweet item that came to hand. I really hope the fact that the biscuits were covered in chocolate made up for the fact they had been open for five weeks on my desk, and all the nice ones (the ones that were still vaguely crispy) had been eaten. I hope I can't get done for poisoning kids, or even worse, I hope their dad isn't stacked.

It reminds me a bit of watching my school housemaster answer the Halloween door to Mr Jenkin's kids while he was holding what looked like a mug of coffee. When the kids asked trick or treat, he said trick and before they could do anything he emptied the mug of water over them and shut the door. I've always admired that sort of behaviour, although it probably breaches international conventions.

Apart from that I've been pretty lazy in relation to coursework. Even though I made a concerted effort to do some, my enthusiasm dwindled quickly and I ended up doing stuff for people who pay me (rather than the university work I pay to do - there has got to be some kind of irony in that).

Tomorrow I have scheduled a meeting with a metallurgist and got a number of other tick boxes to check, however I got the shopping done for this week, so I can't use that as an excuse to get out of doing work tomorrow afternoon.