Thursday 8th October 2026

Thursday.

And later a return to summer, with warm temperatures and wall to wall sunshine.

Before then there was the early morning alarm, then to the gym at ten to six.

There is no light in the sky at five now, not until the end of the month when the clocks go back, but there is a chorus of cats, welcoming us back to the land of the living.

We get the tasks done, make coffee, so are ready for the phys.

We arrived at a minute past six, the queues had gone in, mostly to the pool, so we walked in and up, took position on the bikes and began to peddle.

I had an episode of The Bugle (Hello, Buglers) to listen to, and one that lasted 30 seconds under 50 minutes, so no excuse not to go all the way.

Which I do.

When we come out, the sun is just about to rise again, and its light illuminates the edges of clouds towering over northern France.

I take a shot.

Then back home before the rush, getting back and putting the kettle on.

Too cold for a moment to sit outside, so with supplies low, I volunteer to go to Tesco for the weekly shop.

There are lots of people of a certain age there, and others who seem to have no thought for the movement of others.

Halfway round I lose the shopping list, but I think I remembered all items. Then when loading the bags into the car, there was the list where I am sure I had looked.

No matter that I had forgotten kiwi fruit, as I was to call in at Lidl for their box of German beers, so bought the fruit and lunch, and was back home by ten.

I have a shower and shave, and happy with the thought no more early mornings until Tuesday, as weekend phys begins an hour later.

Sweet.

We have lunch, then sit in the garden until about half two, quarter to three, when the warmth suddenly leaves the sunlight on us on the bottom patio. So we make tracks back to the house, close the doors and windows, as it was going to be a chilly night.

Smoked haddock, mashed potatoes softened with the leftover milk and butter from the fish, fresh corn and creamed spinach for supper.

Was very good, as was the first bottle of German beer.

Then was the last football-free evening for four weeks, so read and was in bed by nine.

Phew.

Wednesday 7th October 2026

Wednesday.

And rain.

Though, once I had woken up by half six, and got up, the rain had not arrived.

In fact it was quite bright, or was by seven once the sun actually rose.

Jools didn't go to her early class once again, so we could have a very chilled start to the day.

Once she left to pick up Jill, so I was alone, I dashed round the garden taking snaps, so to have something for shot of the day, the 3,567th shot of the day, since the beginning of January 2017.

And I thought that the first yard was hard, this is the tenth year!

The garden is still a riot of colour, marigolds are back in flower, as is both the lavender and passion fruit. The latter a thug that no matter how hard we try, can't be killed.

By mid-morning the rain arrived, and on Chez Jelltex it did fall.

Not much to say about what else we did for the rest of the day. Listened to pods, drank coffee and watched the raindrops run down the windows.

In fact it got so chilly, be broke and put the heating on, just to pump the heating round, and make the house warmer.

The cats will just have to get used to having the windows closed, so all four will have to use the single cat flap.

I'm sure they'll work it out just fine.

Supper was doritos with fresh salsa verde and sour cream, which was pretty darn good. Jen keeps giving us the green tomatoes a neighbour of hers leaves on her door handle.

But it is now two whole days before club football returns, two whole evenings without it, and no internationals either, just the debate about Citeh to pass the long, dull hours.

Heck, I even go to bed at eight, try to read but get tied. I'm sound by nine.

Tuesday 6th October 2026

It is the end of the first week of October, and to be honest, it's like the first week of September.

We have had our windows open since we returned from France, and only in the last week has it be what you might call cool at nights.

More interestingly, is that we have had no autumnal storms, or blows, as yet. And looking forward to the two week long range forecast to the 20th, there's none expected.

Neither has there been any Atlantic hurricanes, the remains of which we get here and cause chaos, but are just deep depressions by the time they get here to the UK.

Saying that, after the 7th, temperatures are expected to drop, and as I write this we have closed the windows and put the heating on.

Tuesday.

As Jools has a painful foot, so didn't go to her classes, instead came with me to the gym, so after getting up at five, we double tag so that we are all done and ready to leave at ten to six.

We do fifty minutes, and when I come out, a slight mist had risen over the farmland to the south, the sky golden, and in a few minutes the sun rose.

What a glorious morning.

So, back home for breakfast and brews, and to ponder what to do with the day.

Not much was the answer.

It was warm enough to sit outside, reading the rest of WSC with Scully snoozing beside me.

The afternoon slips by, I have no idea once again what I did, but took all afternoon to do it, before it was time for supper.

Chicken with lots of veggies, as we had been a little lacking in fibre for a couple of days.

And then, there was football.

England's 4th and final game of the international break, and ended up an easy with against the Czechs at Wembley, with Kane scoring is 90th and 91st goals for his country in a record-equalling 125th appearance.

Not bad for a former Norwich striker.

Monday 5th October 2026

One Friday, about two weeks back, I went past Dover Castle on the way into town, and saw there were no buses or coaches parked up, meaning the castle would be quiet.

At the weekend I suggested to Jools we might go Monday, and she agreed.

Needless to say, I forgot, helped in this by the nearly ten hours sleep I got Sunday night, and laying in to nearly seven.

I felt great.

For once.

I had coffee, as did Jools. She had been up since five, waiting on hand on foot to the felines.

So it was we had a quiet build up before leaving for Dover at half nine, as I wanted to call in at Lidl to see if they had the box of Octoberfest beers I had seen advertised.

They hadn't, but spent fifteen quid on nine bottles of the cheap as chips tripel, and two trial bottles of Weissbier at £1.29 a half litre.

Then to the castle, arriving just as it opened at ten, so able to drive up to the car park, on the way we saw just one coach, from Berlin, so there would be fifty over-excited Teutonic teens, but its a big castle.

We showed our membership cards and weree allowed in, the first thing I hoped to see were the Red-billed choughs that since being released nearby, have taken up residence in the Roman Pharos.

Imagine our joy to see, once we had climbed up the the foot of the lighthouse, that inside were indeed a pair of Choughs, the sunlight illuminating their beaks.

Whilst all around the Choughs were in dogfights with Jackdaws, both cawing at each other, though the Choughs could easily outfly their cousins.

We watched them for half an hour, on the rise behind the church and lighthouse, behind the steep drop down to the port and the Channel.

To the keep!

A short walk to the ramp leading to the inner Baily, where we were greeted by a stout fellow, hearty and well me, who went by the fabulous name of Titus, though his surname wasn't Andronicus!

We talked for five minutes before climbing into the keep, up past the small chapel, and into the throne room, all decked out in bright colours, as it would have been in our old friend, Henry II's day.

Behind the thrones was a staircase, up to the roof of the keep, with stunning views of the town and harbour far below, and along the downs either side.

The light breeze cooled us down after the climb up and round the spiral staircases that lead us ever upwards.

Down the other side, down another spiral staircase, which I can't help but take many pictures off as side passages joined and lead off.

Through the dining room, down another spiral stair to the kitchens, all alive with recorded sounds of an army of cooks and helpers preparing a feast.

And into the inner courtyard, now to find the recently reopened mediaeval tunnels.

If I remembered correctly, through the gate nearby, down the slope and into the outer courtyard, should be it.

It was, but it has all been rebuilt, with a new entrance room lading to the steps down.

Three more fine fellows greeted us, and I was wearing a Norwich top, we talked football for ten minutes, where conversation turned to Citeh, obviously.

The steps lead to a steeply sloping tunnel, which after rounding a corner lead to a caponier, lined with canon and canonettes, just as we remembered it.

Then up some steps, along another sloping tunnel linking the ancient with the Georgian, another caponier, before up a final set of steps, leading back into the bright sunlight.

An area that has not been previously be open to the public, running beside Castle Hill to the junction with Reach Road.

We stopped for ten minutes on a bench, and delighted in seeing third generation Small copped in flight, and males fighting on the wing.

Again, it was almost hot, and getting near to dinner time, So we walked down the slope, back to the inner courtyard, then to the car park and to home.

And once home I cook a quick snack of burger, but no fries. And no beer.

Which left the warm afternoon to sit outside and enjoy the sun as it moved westwards before sinking low, as then did the temperatures.

We had a snack for supper, then I pondered whether to watch the Northern Ireland game on TV, but chose to go to bed at half eight instead.

It were dark.

How much trouble are Citeh in?

Manchester City are in a world of hurt.

Some points to make, as I have spent the last ten days, since the leak of the 114 guilty findings, reading and watching posts by experts in various fields, and have come up with the following points:

1. Ignore the sports pundits and commentators, as this goes far beyond sport. As most can't explain the offside or handball rules now, don't expect them to understand the Premier League and FA's rul book in any detail.

2. Citeh have been found guily by an independantly appointed panel of 114 of the 115 charges brought in March 2023.

3. All charges relating to finance have been found proven.

4. Plus a whole load more stating not only were Citeh unhelpful, they were willfully so, and some of their most important witness for Citeh's defence said things they knew were untrue.

4. The evidence Citeh say is irrefutable has already been refuted by the panel.

5. In their appeal, Citeh (nor the PL) can present new evidence.

6. Citeh had the right, and have appealed to the findings.

7. The appeal must be heard within 12 weeks, which takes them to Christmas, and the result a month later.

8. A new panel will be conviened to hear the sanctions (punishment).

9. There is no president for this case, so there's no point in looking at the points deduction of Everton and Nottingam Forest.

10. There are limitless powers given to the sanction pannel to issue, including explusion from the Premier League and stripping of titles.

11. If Citeh are expelled from the PL, then by the EPL rules, they would enter League 2. Not the Championship.

12. In the appeal, mitigating factors like co-operation will be taken into account. As there has been little or no co-operation, the pentalties will be harsher. Possibly far harsher.

13. Citeh will have been warned by their very expensive counsel of the risks of being over-aggressive in this case.

14. At the end of the sanctions hearing, both Citeh and the PL will state what they think the penalties should be, but the panel will decide.

15. The result of the sanctions can be appealled by both Citeh and the PL.

16. Citeh could, and probably will appeal to the High Court, either of points of procedure or law. The bar for such a challenge is very high indeed, and likely to fail.

17. Citeh could change tack, and co-operate, and attempt a plea bargain. But it seems the club wants to bring everything down with it, no matter the financial and reputation cost.

18. The Premier League will have to ensure the punishment (s) fit the crime (s), so to deter other clubs from something similar in the future, so to protect the integrety of the League, satisfying media and commercial partners that the competition is free from financial doping.

19. The use of dual contracts for Roberto Mancina and possibly Pep could result in fines and other punishment for tax evasion, though this is unlikely.

20. Filing false company accounts is, however, a much more serious offence, and could result in some members of the club's membership being barred from not just being in football, but also barred from being an owner or director of a company in the UK.

21. The anger of other clubs in the PL during this period should not be understated, and demand will be not just for punishment, but also to sue for percieved loss ernings of the clubs, and loss of earnings and bonuses for individual players.

22. If the result of the appeal, sanctions, appeals to the High and/or Supreme Court, are not completed by the end of the season, then will the team that finished 18th in the PL really be relegated, or if they are, could that be reversed later? Bearing in mind that the fixtures for the new season, to allow media partners to choose game to broadcast, are released by the end of the third week of June, giving all the above a very tight timeline before next season descends into chaos, where possibly fixtures for the PL, Championship and League 2 could be subject to significant change.

23. They only parties to come out of this up, will be lawyers and barristers. And journalists.

24. It is worth noting that these offences only go up to the end of the 2017-18 season, due to the hacking and release of documents by the football leaks website. It is impossible to think that financial doping, sham contracts and the rest ended there. I am not sure if there will further charges brought for the 2018-19 season onwards, but I wouldn't be surprised.

25. The main plank of Citeh's refence is that the UAE state paid the balance of the commercial contracts, like for Ethiad's naming rights for Citeh's stadium in 2008. A bot of a problem, because in 2011, in submissions to US authorities who also questioned the source of the money for the deal, Ethiad stated that all of the money came from the airline's equity, not from the UAE Government. Oops.

Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham have reserved the right to issue proceedings against Citeh, they stated this in 2023, thus ensuring the statute of limitations did not stop any legal action.

Sunday 4th October 2026

Ian, drop everything and bring your camera!

So said Jools yesterday morning. She was in the car port looking at the ground.

There, on the ground, making for the thin flower bed between Chez Jelltex and next door was what looked like a kid's drawing of a caterpillar made real.

This was a Pale tussock moth, or will grow up to be, after it pupates.

What else could be picture of the day?

This was at ten in the morning, and I had been sitting on the patio nearing the end of the book on Churchcrawling.

Before then, well, you will not be surprised to learn we were up again before five, when it was yet dark, feeding the cats and making coffee.

We could have bailed on the gym. I had done 20,000 steps the day before, but there was music to listen to, and it is the very best time of day on Sunday to go, when it is almost empty.

So we went.

Not before checking the moth trap, and shots of the trapees will have to wait, but some of what I expected, but none of the three exotic species I hoped for.

So it goes.

We do phys, for forty minutes, then back home for eight.

Despite it being October, it was to be a warm, nearly hot sunny day, so after making brews, we sat outside on the patio where it was still a tad chilly, but would warm up.

Not much to do for the day, other than to make chorizo hash. So potatoes cubed and left to soak, before cooking at midday and then left to dry and cool.

The vegetables were prepped, and chorizo, before cooking those, then the potatoes so that they were golden and crispy. Served, and enjoyed.

And no beer drunk.

I read more int he afternoon, down near the shelter as that's the last place in the garden that gets the late afternoon sun.

By then the day was cooling, so inside and close the door. But still no need for the heating on.

For the evening there was #WildflowerHour and Wales playing my adopted country, Denmark. 0-0 at half time, at which point I was beyond tired, so went to bed.

Saturday 3rd October 2026

It's the weekend again, and that means phys and shopping.

Or gathering as we call the weekly foray to Tesco is called.

We were up again before five, as usual. I have just about given up on sleeping to say, six, so anyway. Sort the cats, have coffee.

And be ready to leave at ten to six.

As Jools has hurt her foot, not serious, she bailed on the gym, instead dropping me off so I went to pump lard, and she went gathering.

It was another glorious day in east Kent. The sky reds and pink before sunrise, so much so I snapped the scene from the queue to get into the sports centre.

I do fifty minutes, listening to the second half of the PU from December 1976, and the aftermath of the Pistols' stint with Bill Grundy.

Anyway, where's Bill Grundy now?

Jools was waiting outside, so we could drive home for a well deserved brew and put the shopping away.

I sat on the patio thinking how good it would be to walk down the path along the cliffs to Kingsdown then hunt for Long Tailed Blues.

Instead of wating for eleven when Jools was going to drive into Canterbury to go to see Ray the chiropractor, so I asked her to drop me off at the Dover Patrol ready for my ambitious walk.

The plan was to walk down to Kingsdown, hunt for butterflies, then walk back past the farm to Otty Bottom Road, then home via The Dip and Fleet House.

On top of the 7,000 steps done in the gym already!

I had thought I had been sitting too much this week, so this would fix it.

Or something else.

On the top of the Monument, and all around were dozens of swallows out of hundreds, if not thousands, gathering for the crossing to France and points further south.

Then to the usual spot beside the old Coastguard building to look back along and down the cliffs, before setting off.

I was on the lookout for flowers too, and saw plenty: Knapweed, Toadflax, Field pansy, Harebells, Everlasting pea, Viper's bugloss, Scarlet pimpernel, White deadnettle, Scarlet clover, Common field speedwell, and Dense-flowered Fumitory.

I passed a couple of blokes on the cliff edge, thinking it might have been people we went to India with, Nige, and when I saw his posts on BlueSky later was proved right. But I didn't go over, walking on instead.

Into Kingsdown parish, alnd along the path which now navigates the narrow public land now there have been many cliff falls, onto the Leas, and began the hunt.

I found a faded Wall roosting, but despite spending an hour, all I saw was a single faded male LTB flying away, he did not return.

So I turned for the climb back into St Margaret's, before taking the path beside the parish boundary, up towards Barrow Mount, then turn along the narrow path between the two big fields, the lower one was being ploughed and harrowed, all ready for sowing.

By now I had done close to 15,000 steps, and my legs were complaining, but there was no choice other than to keep on keeping on.

Up the final climb before dropping to Otty Bottom Road, and there I found a section of field set aside, and full of wild flowers, which gladdened my heart.

I turned down Norway Drove to The Dip, only to find the usual smooth chalky slope now covered in grass and native wild flowers, and it seems to be no longer used by the farmer, and has been removed from sat navs after a delivery van got stuck a few years back.

The climb up to Fleet House is not steep nor long, but my legs were shot. I managed it, then leaving me a level walk across the fields to home. As I walked back along the street, I reached 20,000 steps. And my legs hated me.

Once home I had two pints of iced squash, sat with Scully on the patio as I waited for Jools to return. I was OK as long as I didn't need to walk, as my legs stiffened up like two plants of timber.

Once Jools returned we had mini pork pies for lunch, then a couple of hours later before the football marathon, I cooked the pizzas.

League 2 football is not of a high standard, which will be fun to see Citeh be involved with in due course.

Rochdale scrambled a last minute winner against former Premier League club Swindon.

Then came Croatia v England.

Now, I was nervous, but the game played in front of 6,000 children due to crowd trouble last year.

England set off like an express train and were soon 2-0 up, as the aging Croats struggled chasing shadows.

They also apparetnly played without a defence, or they went AWAOL, so England were 4-0 up at half time, and cruising.

England ran in three more to win 7 (seven)- 0 against a team still ranked in the top twenty ranked teams in the world.