Monday 5th July 2021

Monday.

Jools has to do the work of two people for the next fortnight, as her boss is on holiday. They work buying for the company, and work at just over 100%, therefore with just one of them there isn't enough hours in the day. In order to be up to date she did three hours work on Sunday so production could continue. She will bring home filing each night, and it will be like this for two weeks.

Poor Jools.

I, meanwhile, will spend the day and week fighting the forces of evil trying to drive improvement. My task requires lots of thinking. And tea. And food for thought.

Which brings me to my great idea.

My great idea was that for the last two months I have been making cornbread, but I have been aware that it has a certain sweetness under the onions the recipe required. So, I thought, what about if i take out the onion and add something sweet, which is how I came to be making vanilla flavoured cornbread.

I have been warned that people from the Southern States might be horrified, but I had faith in my idea. So, through the morning, between meetings, I mix the batter, spoon it into the tin and then bake for forty minutes until baked.

I let it cool, then tried a slice.

And?

Well, a little bland. Which was a surprise as I had used two vanilla pods in it, and so I thought that would be enough. But no. However, even average cake is cake, which is what it is, really.

I won't make it again, probably, but not a total write off like liver flavoured ice cream would be.

Outside it was bright, if not sunny, but nice enough to go for a wander round the garden, havest some berries for breakfast. I had to harvest twice, as I managed to drop the bowl on the ground and the fruit be covered by ants and soil. Our own early and main season raspberries and redcurrents, which were perfectly sweet and goes very well with yogurt and grape nuts.

And through the day a slice or two of the cornbread.

With every step forward there comes several in the opposite direction. I mean I try to positive, but after weeks of this it really grinds you down and batter the last traces of enthusiasm out of me.

Sigh.

One day I would like a day to end on a positive note rather that yet another soul-destroying phone call.

Enough about work, but it is hard.

Dinner was breaded chicken, stir fry and noodles.

As I was preparing it, I saw a helicopter land the other side of The Dip. It was the air ambulance, with gave me the chance to take some snaps, although I can't find out why it landed, but there were other regular ambulances abour near where it landed.

Maybe it was an exercise.

Jools came back at six, we eat and have a coffee, she then answers more work mails and does the filing she had brought home. Two more hours done. She must have done 14 hours that day alone.

We go to bed at nine, she is pooped and drops off staight away, I read for a while and hear the cats padding around the house.