Tuesday 9th December 2025

Being a Tuesday, its a gym day.

And with Jools feeling better, she is going to her fitness class before eight, so I have to be at the gym even earlier, like just gone six.

I wonder if I am mad, but I like the empty-ish gym and being able to get on and do my session before crowds get there.

And anyway, if I do it early, I have the rest of the day for other stuff.

What other stuff, you ask.

Well, breakfast, lunch, teas and coffees and having a shower and so on.

In short, nothing much, I would have got the phys in.

I try to complete the ride round New Zealand North Island, but it defaults to something in France, so I select an Italian hilly ride, and get going, while the phone plays a podcast: A review of the 1992 Big Break Christmas Special.

Its odd to think that for a few years, Jim Davidson was a mainstream star and hosted the snooker-based quiz, Big Break and then the Generation game.

This a man who had a thick line in racist jokes during the 70s based on his "friends" Chalky, who was African descent.

Its all PC now, you can't say anything lest you offend someone. Well, I would say that Jim "fiend of the Forces" Davidson is about as funny as herpes.

Now his star has fallen, he is reduced to making videos complaining about woke and snowflakes.

I also listened to a review of the Des O'Connor Show from 1991, when he was a huge star, apparently. And on this show had guests of: Bernard Manning, Cathy Dennis, Jackie Mason and Barry Manilow.

All were huge at the time.

Des, best known perhaps for being a foil to Morecambe and Wise, and Bernard Manning best known for being a sexist racist, who I once saw in cabaret on Jersey, and the show being so rude, he was banned from the island for life.

That was the time I was invited onstage to be a magician's assistant. I kid you not.

But that's another story.

The podcasts made the forty minutes fly, and enabled me to get back home before dawn.

And in time for Jools to have the car to drive into town for her class.

I stayed home for a brew and breakfast, before having a shower and shave, so I smelt lovely.

Gentle rain fell all day, blown by a keen wind. A storm had passed up the west coast of England, Wales and Ireland, bringing force 10 winds and heavy rain there.

But not in Kent.

Birds were fed.

We had our main meal at lunch. Jools had gone to Canterbury to finish the Christmas shopping, so I peeled and boiled the potatoes and prepared the vegetables, before putting in the boiled spuds to roast for 90 minutes.

We sat down to eat at two: beef and stilton pies, the potatoes, veggies and onion gravy.

It was splendid. But also caused us to be rather sleepy through the rest of the afternoon as darkness fell.

No supper needed, so I could watch Norwich play at Sheffield United, and draw 1-1. And play well. And should have won with a last minute breakaway goal. But put it wide.

Still not a defeat.