Wednesday 8th November 2017

Oh my. Hump day. I have not done anything really taxing, so why am I so tired?

It is a grey dull morning, once dawn comes, revealing everything in muted tones and colours. A light drizzle is falling, and in a while it falls slightly harder. And that's the way it stayed all day; damp, dull, and cold.

I get up and put the heating and hot water on, Jools is already up doing her lunch and feeding the cats.

She is up and about, apparently full of beans, and there is me, angry that it is morning. Scully looks mournfully from her feeding perch on the window cill in the utility room, thinks about things then takes up her pace on the sofa, where she stays most of the day, only getting up to demand more food.

I am distracted, as I was contacted about a job, and was I interested? Was I though? I guess so. I have been doing this for four years, I think I am good at my job, so lets see what's out there. I mention this because 27 years ago, just about to the day, I passed my basic training in the RAF, and my parents came to see me and the rest of our intake march up and down and be generally military. That lead to 15 more years, of not marching up and down, but much fun, some travel and meeting friends. 11 years ago, again almost to the day, I was laid off from Raw Chemicals; how dare they sack me from their crappy job before I had a chance to quit. I ended up getting a job on the survey boats, saw the world, well, Indonesia, Norway, Montrose and the Caspian Sea before I made a bad career move and it all went belly up. And eight years ago, I was trying to get a full time job at the box factory for minimum wage. And this year I turned down a job at which I could have done, more than doubled what I am getting now! That's the sort of thing I can do now. My word.

But my mind was on that for most of the day. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, and the people I work for. But, you know, sometimes it don't hurt to look at options.

Outside the rain fell harder, and as I made a coffee, I watched goldfinches, chaffinches, blue tits and a wren in the back garden, going to the feeders. I get my camera, pop on the big boy lens and take some shots. Some of our birds are just so darned colourful. The Goldfinch is the dandy garden bird, without the attitude problem the robin has. The robin has good PR, but is a bully, chasing other birds off from the feeders, or any source of food.

Outside the rain still drizzles down, and raindrops run down the windows. The cats still look out the window, not happy with the turn of events.

As darkness falls, I cook boiled chicken, bacon and rice. As I have said, a simple meal, but really very warming and fairly easy to cook. Jools got stuck in traffic after an accident at Capel, so I wait with dinner cooked, and just being kept warm.

She arrives back at ten past six; we eat and talk. I had called the hospital and Mum is still improving, but still on antibiotics, but well enough to be moved back to the ward. If there was a bed. So the need to rush up to Suffolk seems to have faded. Again.