Monday 15th August 2016

The pause before the storm. Or travel anyways.

A day at home, working away at the kitchen table, ignoring the cats and the glorious weather outside.

I turn the computer on and find I have 5 hours of meetings from half seven through till midday, such is life. So, before the first one, I make a strong cup of coffee and get ready for the first one.

At one point, I look round as I listen to someone else speak, only to see a small mouse hopping round the living room. I make my apologies and try to creep up on the little critter. He ends up hiding behind my new records which were leaning up against the wall. I grab a cloth, and as I move the records out of the way, drop the cloth on the mouse and scoop him up. Once outside I let him go, and it is stunned to be outside, but soon makes tracks for the undergrowth and is gone.

At about half three, I go outside for a breather and so sit on the patio for a while in the afternoon sun, and I think it would be nice to have an ice cream. I remember there are three magnums in the freezer. Soon there were just two magnums left in the freezer, and it felt like being on holiday eating the lolly.

When I go back inside, there is a flash of red from the front garden, and when I go to check there is a young fox eating birdseed from the slabs. He seems not to be bothered being out in broad daylight. But he also seems to be very thin, and so must be hungry indeed to be eating such hard tack in broad daylight. I go for my camera, then edge nearer the window, and so get fine shots as he carries on eating peanuts.

And then he was gone, trotting back into next door's garden.

For dinner we have kofte kebabs and chips, and was nice and dirty. Good to have once in a while. However, I didn't do many chips, so there was a chance that we would be hungry later in the evening. I have to go to Tesco to buy supplies for friends in Denmark, and whilst wandering about I see some treacle puddings and fresh custard for sale; I had been thinking about that meal for some time, something your grandparents would cook, or you have at school. Old school cooking.

I buy both, and then heat them up at home, but was a disappointing experience. I think I will have to make the real thing for us over the winter.

There is packing t be done, and have a shower, then one final look at the meteors outside before we go to bead just after nine, as the alarm would go off at quarter to five in the morning.