Wednesday 20th June 2018

Somehow we have reached the third week of June, the year is racing ahead of us, and tomorrow is midsummer. Where does the time go?

Indeed.

It is a usual working day here at Chez Jelltex. We get up at half five, feed the cats and make breakfast, and after a night of poor sleep thanks to my dozens of various insect bites, it is soon time to start work.

There are fires to put out, urgent mails to reply to, calls to receive.

The morning passes. Outside the sun shines down, and the garden is further brightened by more flowers that have emerged, including dozens of tiny Selfheal in the lawn, or what was once our lawn. Many more than last year. I take their picture because. Because? Its there

The cats mostly stay outside in the summer, coming in only to check on their food bowl occasionally and to bring me dead gifts. Better than live ones in most cases, as chasing a mouse of bird around the house is funny, I rarely get it before they find refuge under some furniture or the waiting jaws of another watching cat.

And there is football.

Always football. I take the laptop to the sofa to watch the second half of the Portugal v Morocco game early in the afternoon, taking calls and assembling spreadsheets.

The afternoon fades with that game ending, so I water some of the garden, then prepare dinner; pasta salad and aubergine. A fine summer feast, and another one I can thank the first Mrs Jelltex for. Precious little else to thank her for, mind.

Before the football in the evening, I put the Solarcan up in the back garden. A friend of mine has created a camera that takes a 6 month exposure of the changes in the movement of the sun across the sky. So come midwinter I will take it down and see the results. ANd that will be another shot of the day sorted!

And then there was Spain v Iran in the evening, I am pooped and barely stay awake for the game, and as soon as the final whistle goes, I switch the TV off and we go to bed. I pray for a long night's sleep.