Tuesday 29th September 2026

Tuesday again.

And once again my brain and body had me awake before the alarm, this day some two and a half hours before.

So I lay in the dark and waited. And waited.

Up at ten to five, get dressed, put the kettle on and sort the cats out, so that Jools could get up and take her time.

Coffee made, drunk slowly, so that by ten to six, I was ahead of schedule, a lazy drive to the sports centre, where it was crazy busy, but again most folks going to the pool or an exercise class.

I went up and did forty minutes, I could have done fifty, but my legs just stopped going round.

Back home it was warm enough to sit out on the patio, and drink the tea that Jools had made before he left for her classes.

Its all go.

There was a second cake to bake, but first feed the first one with Masala wine, then wrap it up and place in a tin to mature for three months.

And the second was mixed, again with fruit left to soak in more Madeira, though for only 24 hours this time.

Once in the oven, the bright start outside gave way to mist and then fog. The mournful lowing of the foghorn echoing around the countryside as we're just a couple of miles from the port.

Too cold to site outside, so Scully and I take to the sofa, and she lays against my arm to keep warm and falls asleep.

At lunchtime, the sun breaks through, so I grab a few shots in the garden, but the fog returns. Until just after four the skies turned blue, the fog melted away, and it was warm again.

So it goes.

And then the statement from the PL on Citeh, and so all ears to the radio t listen for hot takes, before the England game kicked off at quarter to eight.

A dull, dull game, and one England struggled to break down the Czechs, though helped when one of their players was sent off.

Two second half goals didn't hide how poor England were in breaking down defensive teams, no matter how many players tey have to the pitch.