Friday 9th October 2020

First, the big news. Or non-news as it turned out.

However.

When Jools went into work on Thursday evening, the offgoing shift had rumours of redundancies to spread, and an official memo to back this up. Orders into November are very thin on the ground, and there will have to be redundancies, no idea of who or how many.

So, Jools had a whole 12 hours to let this ferment in her mind before coming home. Now, don't get me wrong, it would hurt is financially if Jools lost her job, but we could cope. We coupld possibly cope if I lost my job too, though it would mean no travel. But you know what I mean.

Jools came home, told me, and then she went to bed for six hours. And when she woke up there was an e mail for her to call the factory manager.

We both came to the same conclusion of what the outcome would be.

Though we were both wrong, as it happens.

Jools' job is safe, for now. Not under threat in management speak. And there is no night shift next week, so she is going back to furlough next week. Then a week on holiday. And one last week on furlough, and then they will see what measures the Government will bring in by that time.

So, we are all good, and each month we will save more money.

Which is good.

But back to Friday. I woke up at six, and it was getting light and the cats getting hungry. Apparently.

So I feed them, make a coffee for me and a tea for Jools for when she comes back. She did not know at the time there was no more night shifts, so she could not say goodbye to the bloke she has spent eight nights working with over the last two weeks.

So it goes, so it goes.

She goes to bed, and it is silent again, as all cats vanish, and I am alone in the living room once again.

Sunrise is now beyond seven in the morning, and during the day it rises less as it passes over the garden to the south, making the shadows longer and longer.

I take some pictures in the gard: a frong in the top pond and some of the birds on our feeders, sparrows and goldfinches.

The day passes.

Jools gets up at one, we have aubergine for lunch. I had finished work when she got up, and as she showered I egg and breadcrumbed the slices of aubergine before shallow frying them.

I have had a good week so I told myself I deserved a glass or two of wine.

Outside, as predicted, clouds rolled in and there was a hint of rain in the air as the day faded and breeze strengthened.

To use up stuff from the fridge, I make courgette fritters for dinner, with more wine. Each time they taste slightly different, which is one of the joys of not following a recipe or measuring anything.

And that was the day, really. Gardner's Wrld was on late, so Jools watches something called The Boys and I watched train videos from Chicago until it was time for bed where I finished the latest WSC.

Not a bad day.