Thursday 13th JUly

32 years since Live Aid.

Apparently.

Where does the time go? Goes quickly it seems. I can remember what I did for some of that day, a bbq with friends with whom we used to play darts with. We left for their place mid-afternoon, and it being a glorious hot day, sounds of the gig were coming out of every house as we drove down Sands Lane. And during the bbq, we kept dashing inside to see who was next up on stage. I wanted to get back to record some of it, and we returned home for the U2 slot, and that version of Bad along with Queen's set were the real highlight of the Wembley gig. I sat up to about three waiting for Led Zeppelin to come on, and was worth waiting for in the end. Still have the tape too (audio only).

In 2017, it was a copy and paste day. As it has been for the previous six work days, and will be until I finish this document. Looking at the scroll bar, I am nearly halfway though it. It had better be worth it.

A usual Thursday with the usual preamble: coffee, feed the cats, breakfast, put the bins out. And do it in such a way so not to meet the neighbours with whom we have not spoken since hostilities broke out. It was all over the wall her Mother knocked down four years back. Its not the fact it got knocked down, but that she didn't admit to it. And with the passing of time, I forgot that after being told about the accident, up her Mother's return, I went out to look at the back of their car, and found a good amount of brick dust still visible. She had hit a wall that day, and after being told about the accident by another neighbour, it is sensible to assume that the brick dust came from our wall.

That last bit I forgot about, so when he came to confront me about the accusation I made in a mail, I could not offer more than I had been told, and would not say who told me. It all came to a head because we feed birds in the front garden, and this year's starling fledglings stayed around and used to come en mass to feed. As a by product, starlings get stuck down next door's chimney, and poo on their car which they park outside. Maybe they caught me on a bad day, but I exploded, but I thought I replied in a measured way via mail about the times we had accepted their request to change something in the garden, but the thrust was that they had done some stuff we were not happy with.

Like all of us, they took the bits that annoyed them, and threw them back at me, probably rightly, so we are both angry, they because they think I am a dick who makes casual accusations with no evidence, and me because the way I was confronted about the bird issue sounded very much being given an order. I guess that means we will no longer speak, which is a shame, but life goes on.

So, I put the bins out getting back inside without making contact and so avoiding conflict. And began work with a meeting. Thursday always begins with a meeting, a moan in really, but good to share our problems around and get feedback.

And then on with the copy and pasting. And on. And on. And on, breaking for lunch, before moving to the sofa so I could copy and paste whilst watching Le Tour. This was because the Tour had reached the mountains, and looked like the mammoth stage would be exiting.

It was, and the order was ripped apart as Froome fell apart in the final short climb at the finish. It was 1:5, and was more like a ski ramp.

There was time to go for a quick walk, over the fields to the butterfly glade.

Big skies, wispy clouds and warm southerly winds was the order of the day.

The pigs were sound asleep, way to hot for porkers, the familiar views were seen and snapped, but already the harvest is under way, lines of chaff on the sides of the downs, and at the bottom of the Dip, waterlogged from the rain two days ago.

I turn round to make, retracing my steps home, still watching for more butterflies. I saw Common Blue, Large White, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Peacock, Red Admiral, Comma and a Meadow Brown. Peak butterfly season.

That meant it ended just in time for me to start preparing dinner, just after feeding the cats theirs. I did burgers, dirty food and as this had been requested by JOols. I thought I would be clever and have them ready when she arrived home, however, I did not know she worked late to make up work. I got a call at half five saying she was leaving work, just as I was getting ready to plate up.

I warm them through when she arrived home. But come half six it seemed that half the evening had already passed us by. We watched The Don, and some of The Sky at nIght, and by then it already seemed to be getting dark. There was blogs to write, photos to edit, and once done, we had run out of time. But tomorrow is Friday