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.