Monday 24th August 2015

In three of the last four yeas, the time of year has seen me descend into allergy related hell, with regular bouts of what I thought was at first flu. As I now know what the warning signs are, and I have the drugs to combat it, I saw am worried, as I have been so allergy free, for the most part for months now. I have not had to go to the doctors for a new prescription since early spring, and I can now kill an attack by taking milder drugs once the itchy eyes start.

On the whole, however, I would rather not have the attacks at all, and I can just go about my life generally not sneezing and being able to breathe, I mean, who wouldn't?

All this preamble is because yesterday evening, after a day of sniffs and sneezes I got blocked sinuses. This caused a head ache and achy eyes. This morning, a couple of anti-congestion pills and I'm right as rain, and angry with myself for not taking them yesterday so I would have had a better night sleep. But, there you have it, the wisdom of older age.

But that was yesterday and this morning: what about Sunday I hear you ask. I said I hear you ask!

Sunday

Already there was a cooler feeling about the day when compared to the day before, but still, if we were to go for a walk, then we should do it sooner rather than later. So, after coffee, we got ready for a quick walk up to Windy Ridge, for the exercise and to checks on the autumn fruit, which should be ripening and be nearly ready for picking.

It might be sunny, but with the keen breeze, that meant no butterflies, which I suppose would be reduce my dawdling with the camera and maybe we might some walking down after all. Across the fields, past butterfly glade and the pig's copse and down past the farm and up the now dried track towards the wood at Windy Ridge. We saw nothing amazing or unusual, but just revelled in the wonderful early morning ligth, and passed the time of day with others who were out doing much the same as us.

In the wood, there was no sign of many fungi as normal, but our main aim was to scout the area to the north of the wood as we have found that an abandoned and now ruined church lay somewhere between here and the Deal road. We will have a hunt in the next few weeks.

Midway through the wood, we cut back south to the road past the actual Windy Ridge, a cottage that the owners used to run a plant nursery from, and then down the hill, along another track and back up to the field overlooking our house. It might have been barely an hour, but we had been out, done some snapping, and now very ready for our bacon butties.

And indeed soon the house is full of the smell of burning pig again, and once cooked I can slump on the sofa and watch the previous day's matches on catch up. And in that way, the morning passes.

Jools had been round the raspberry canes, and had picked about half a pound of ripe berries for each of us, which we had for lunch, smothered in fresh cream. As you do. There really is little better thing than to eat your own fresh raspberries.

As ever int e months between August and May, the afternoon was spent around football, either following games on the interwebs or on the radio. Its a hobby, and almost free , unlike if you subscribe to BT or sky

. At four I began to cook dinner; roast beef, Yorkshire Pudding, roast potatoes and steamed veg. And at six it was ready, and for the occasion, I opened the bottle of Brunello I bought when flying back from Copenhagen. It was as nice as a thirty quid bottle of plonk should be.

And that just leaves us to watch the Final Cut of Bladerunner to round a fine day off.

Time to die!