I had a real defining moment today. My parents and I went out for a walk around the Prime Minister's country residence of Chequers south of Aylesbury. It was a wonderful walk, full of twists, turns, ups, downs, hills, valleys, woods and open landscapes.

After six miles we stopped for lunch on the side of a valley looking down to the bottom and across to the hills on the other side; the whole view was encircled by green and orange trees ready to drop their leaves for a stiff breeze. A beef and pickle sandwich and a slug of sloe gin steeled us for the final mile of hilly terrain. As we set off the gentle drips of rain that accompanied our lunch turned into a heavy shower so I donned my waterproof jacket and set off. We went down to the valley floor, steadily up to a peak, round the side of one hill and approached the steep side of another: Beacon Hill at Ellesborough.

I'd said during lunch that I was looking for a hill that would challenge me. I wouldn't say as much to my parents but the ascents we were attempting weren't challenging me at all, and sticking to their pace - particularly my mum's, bless her - wasn't really pushing me as much as I'd like. I've felt for a while that I'd rather push like mad to get to the top and push my body hard than pace myself and not tire myself out.

So it was that I stood facing this hill with apprehension but almost certainty that I'd get to the top without stopping or collapsing. As mum and dad started steadily up the side I prepared myself by shedding my waterproof layer and rolling my sleeves up. I grabbed my walking pole, tightened my pack straps and started on my way.

After the first third of the climb, I could feel my heart pumping in my chest and my breathing was picking up. I passed my parents taking a breather half-way up and resisted the urge to look at the view they alluded to. As I kept pushing I felt twinges in my legs and feet that had announced themselves at various times through the day but they soon disappeared when the summit came into view. I was wondering how much further to go when a peak appeared and gave me something to aim for. I hadn't slowed my pace except for tough parts of terrain and on reaching the top, panting like a dog, sweating somewhat and feeling my pulse in my entire body, the sun was out and I took a look around me.

What a view! I'm not sure there are words to describe the combination of adrenaline, pride of achievement and the astounding vista which greeted me as I caught by breath at 225m elevation. I was so very pleased with myself for tackling such a hill and proving to myself that I'm capable of such things. I can definitely see how climbing up things and looking down can become addictive because I got a real natural high at the top of that hill.

My only regret is that my mum seemed eager to get on our way, so we only spent a couple of minutes at the top before descending 75m back to the car. Next time, I'll be staying for at least fifteen minutes to take everything in.

Photos to follow, hopefully.

I've just had it confirmed that one of my good friends is moving back to the area with his missus and son. It's been on the cards for quite some time but it seems now to be impending. This is great news and I'm really looking forward to having them closer to hand. They're people I feel completely at ease with and his enthusiasm for coming back is quite contagious.

We made our usual Sunday Morning Pancakes today for the first time in a couple of months. It was great fun, and I'm almost confident daughter could make them on her own now, despite a terrible attempt during the summer holidays! One great memory from this time together in the kitchen was that I made proper, sticky, sweet caramel from scratch for the first time ever. Previously it's either been burnt or gone rock solid, or both. So, getting it right this time was a triumph. Getting daughter to make it is the next step.

We also cooked a cracking macaroni cheese dish, which should provide at least six meals for about £5.50. It's bloody tasty too!

Daughter doesn't like Stilton cheese. Her face when she tried it will stick in my mind for ever.

I bought Pokemon Diamond and Pearl for daughter and I. It was a bit of an impulse purchase because I couldn't really afford it, having had a day off sick yesterday, but it was worth it. The game is great, daughter seems to enjoy it too and it's something else we can do together.

I went out with a few of my good friends this evening. It turned into a bit of a late one and I regret not coming home for ten o'clock like I'd intended, but I had a great night, supported one of my friends in his time of need and it felt great to be out and about.

This is something that might appear trivial to outside observers but I'd like to record it here anyway.

Most of my life, people have been taken aback when I refuse a cup of tea or coffee on the basis that I don't usually drink hot drinks. My childhood was full of water, squash, milk, Soda Streams and other fizzy drinks. My parents have always drunk coffee and I assume it's a bad idea to give young boys caffeine so we weren't brought up on tea.

The reason I mention this here is because I've recently started having a cup of tea every morning between eight and nine o'clock. Since the toaster at work broke and noone's been arsed to replace it, I've almost been using it as a replacement for breakfast. I'm not sure how nutritionally valuable it is in that capacity, but I've really grown to like my cuppa in the morning. I'm afraid to add that I tend to crave it around a certain time, when all the drivers have left the office and I'm alone with the internet or my book. I'm afraid to say it because I thought it'd never happen to me. Hopefully I'll never become totally addicted to tea.

Tonight we baked wholemeal cheese scones. They were a little too sweet and didn't rise so they were a bit more like biscuits than scones, but they were still good and the process of cooking them with daughter was really good fun.

We made banana apple smoothies today. Daughter did much of the work, chopping bananas and adding honey. We used banana, apple, low-fat yoghurt, milk, honey and oats, mixed up in a blender. They were absolutely gorgeous, and we'll definitely be doing it again in the future.

Daughter and I cooked topside beef stew this evening. Waitrose had a £7.50 joint reduced to £3 and two bags of pre-prepped Irish stew veg - potato, leek, carrot, lentils and herbs - reduced to 60p a pack. Daughter chopped the beef with my sharp knife - very well I may add - and browned it with the packs of veg, added half a pint of last night's San Miguel which was the closest thing we had to ale, and a litre of organic beef stock. We let it boil off for an hour and ate it with rice, and it was bloody lovely!

It's been brilliant to have daughter back this week. She's such great company. We're getting on really well, laughing and joking much of the time. I'm pleased to put in the extra effort to ensure she has a nice time while she's with me - it's so easy to slip into a routine and not make an effort... Something I need to remember for next time I get into a relationship.

Yesterday was my friend's 40th birthday, and oh boy did we celebrate in style? She decided to have a dinner party and I'd offered to make soup as a starter so she didn't have as much work to do. To this end, I left work early to cook and get myself sorted for the evening.

We had a great night, and I've taken so much away from it I'm not sure where to begin.

The thing that strikes me most is that I managed to not get terribly, horribly drunk. This is new territory for me, and I'm proud of myself for buying 4% beer instead of my usual 5-5.5% premium, which definitely helped keep me on the level. My soup went down an absolute treat; it's the first time I've cooked for more than two or three people for many years. That was incredibly fulfilling and not only was the meal warm and comforting, but the positive feedback about the dish filled me up too.

I spent time with my favourite group of people, supported a good friend and had a great laugh too.

When I got home after 3am I was finally sozzled, helped along merrily by a smoke after everyone else had made their way home. I wasn't tired in the slightest, so I tidied daughter's shelves and put all her jewellery and hair-bands away, fixed a few bits and bobs, played Grand Theft Auto for a while and finally rolled into bed around 5am.

I awoke only four hours later and couldn't see myself getting back to sleep so I got up - feeling pretty bloody rough after two late nights in a row - and made ready to welcome daughter home for a week.

I went to Oxford with my best friend to see Bat for Lashes this evening. We wandered up Cowley Road and found somewhere to have a curry and a chat. I talked for ages and feel I may have monopolised the chat somewhat.

After eating we went across the road to the O2 Academy and watched the gig. It was great to see the diversity of the crowd and the population of Oxford. It's such a vibrant and cultured town.

The performance itself was wonderful. The artist was eloquent, vocal and interactive, her band were multi-instrumental and talented and the show was captivating. The atmosphere was buzzing and tangible, not least because went from almost overheating to veritably chilly when the air-conditioning came on after three songs.

We noticed many influences in her music and presence, from Bjork to Kate Bush, PJ Harvey to Alanis Morrisette. These are legendary influences, and she wholly deserves the comparison. Although the performance seemed short - less than ninety minutes, certainly - it was a lovely evening in great company.

My best friend came over to discuss the plight of a few people in our mutual friendship group who seem to be in a lot of turmoil. This isn't a particularly happy memory in itself, but I was able to contribute ideas to the discussion which I think helped. Additionally, when she arrived I had just finished eating some of the gratin I cooked earlier in the week, and was halfway through cooking green tomato and chili jam. She said 'Something smells good,' and I showed her what I was cooking. She laughed and asked 'Can I put you on My Single Friend?'

I had to think for a minute, but soon the answer was obvious. She said 'Here you are, a good looking bloke, and you're making jam, and you're single. What do you think?' so I agreed. It's always lovely to have compliments sent your way, especially from someone as trusted as she - they don't come along that often - and it's comforting that I feel confident enough to meet new women after so many years alone.

I got my VISA debit card. This is brilliant news! I feel like I've joined the ranks of the grown-ups with this chip-and-pin wonder. I look forward to the first time someone says 'I think your card is the wrong way round', the first time I notice someone pretending to divert their eyes from watching me type in my pin. It means I can now shop online - I might even try and do my entire christmas shop on the internet this year - and I can pay for things by card instead of having to get decimal chunks of money from the cashpoint. Result.

This afternoon after work I said 'screw the weather!' and struck out for a good eight and a quarter miles walk from Buckingham to Stowe and back via Charmandean and Akeley. The clement weather broke at the outskirts of Stowe and I donned my new jacket to find it perfectly waterproof during the windy deluge which followed. I wore it for a few minutes after the rain abated until I climbed a hill and found my arms were sweating heavily in their sleeves, so I took it off and cooled down.

While at Stowe, I was buzzed by two very low Apache helicopters - low enough for me to see the pilot's face - as they hugged the terrain. I whooped and danced afterward; what a noise, what a buzz!

I also got a chance to look around my childhood home at Lamport as it is being refurbished for new occupants since Nat Thornton retired. It hasn't changed a bit since we moved out twenty-five years ago, and it even had an indescribable scent of nostalgia inside and out.

There was plenty of muddy ground and wet grass which gave my boots their best workout yet. Despite the soles at the front of my feet aching somewhat, they stood me in good stead and I'm really enjoying using them.

Finally, I fed my remaining apple to a horse in a field outside Akeley. She acknowledged the feed by dipping her head and tapping her hoof on the grass, which I thought was rather sweet.

All in all, a great walk. I faced the rain and won, I got myself off the bloody sofa and back into the great outdoors and blew out the cobwebs, which I've needed to do for a few days now. I'm proud of myself.

I made a fantastic dish tonight. I was wandering around Waitrose looking for something for dinner and I came across their ready-made potato dauphinoise. I picked it up and the thought occured that it was bloody easy to make and I'd be able to customise it to my own tastes. I'd not made my own for some time and I had a few ideas for it. I was fortunate in that they had Boursin garlic and herb soft cheese massively reduced to a quarter of its original price, so I snapped some up for the sauce. In cooking the dish, I sliced some potatoes, par-boiled them in home-made chicken stock while frying an onion. Once the potatoes were done, I drained the stock off and ladled it into the onions while adding the Boursin to make a nice creamy sauce. Once seasoned with salt and pepper and a teaspoon of mustard powder, I layered the potatoes and a sprinkle of grated mature cheddar cheese into a glass baking dish and poured on the sauce, topped with a little cheese and black pepper and stuck it in the oven for an hour. It was sensational and I ate far, far too much of it. I was so pleased I'd made the effort to cook it from scratch. It'd be a brilliant accompaniment to a chicken dish, and I must remember to add some thyme to the sauce next time.

After an interview and application process, I got my own current bank account today. This is a complete result! I think I mentioned before, but I used to be rubbish with money. It seems having stuck with one bank and kept my nose clean has actually paid off and now I have a proper account with a debit card that I can use for direct debits and PayPal and the like. This probably seems normal to anyone reading; to me, it's a massive step in getting myself on the way to normality again.