Sunday 12th January 2019

We have a major trip planned for next week, and coming after four days away next week too, we thought we would take things easy this week.

We were awake before six, though the cats slept soundly, until the moment they think you're awake, then its "meow?"

So we are up and making coffee and getting ready for the day ahead, the only plan really was to be at Tesco just after eight, so we could scan and shop.

Tesco was nice and quiet, just as we like it, and with our plan to do some emergency supplies shopping, we manage to fill the trolley and have two overfull carrier bags too. But we have about three weeks emergency food, next it to buy a camping stove just in case things are really that bad in East Kent come the 30th March and beyond.

And do I think things will be that bad? It is possible, so best be cautious.

Back home and find places to store our dried and canned goods, warm up croissants and make more coffee.

Perfect.

We spent the morning in the garden, pruning the climbing roses and fruit canes. Not really shire about Loganberries, but many canes were so long they had doubled over and were on the ground agan. All gone, then.

The garden is beginning to wake up, even in this the second week of the year. Spring bulbs are showing, and some are well advanced indeed. We had crocus in flower on January 12th last year, not this year though, but temperatures are in double digits most day, so anything is possible.

For lunch I make steak and ale pie. Or rather I put the pie we bought from Tesco, into the oven, prepared and steamed the vegetables and roasted the potatoes.

And it was glorious.

Of course.

We listened to the Wet Sham v Arse game on the radio as we ate, then I tried to stay awake whilst the main batch of games at three played out. City fell behind early on at West Brom, but played better in the 2nd half and scored a deserved equaliser in the last ten minutes. We slip to third on goal differences, but West Brom away was the second hardest game we have left, so don't have to play them again.

At six we go to Whitfield for more card action, the usual menu of games: two hands of meld and then Queenie to the death. And I can report I won all three, including a huge jackpot with the final run. I know this means nothing to you as both games are quite obscure, but I did learn that Meld is apparently a game from New Zealand. Or Jen learned the game from two Kiwis.

Stranger things have happened.

And that was your day.