Thursday 15th July 2021

Jools will now have worked for seven days doing the work of two people. She has done well, but it has been hard work, bringing home work on Monday and Tuesday, checking mails into the evening and doing forecasts for work the next day. She has two to go, and I expect her to collapse like a punctured tyre on Friday evening. She is talking about a day off next week, she certainly deserved it.

We both lay in until half six. Jools had turned her alarm off as we went to bed after 11 the night before. What I failed to mention was that I got a twinge of gout through the night, coming I guess from being slightly dehydrated the day before and wearing the walking boots rather than the shoes. I plan to drink plenty and hopefully it would fade away.

It would seem I had to take things easy for a while, and to mock me, the sun was due to come out, though until mid-morning it was grey and cool. Cats slept, except when they didn't, Cleo especially having found her voice and comes in demanding meow. Poppy too meowed the other day, a cut-glass, posh meow. Delightful for its rarity. Popps now jumps in and out of the living room top window, and is really settling down and seems happier than she was, though we know we will have to fix something before next winter.

I make coffee and check on the interwebs, and yes, the UK is still stupid and Boris the Clown is still PM.

Work begins and for a change, I actually complete my tasks. This is so amazing, I had better repeat that: I actually complete my tasks.

I have breakfast of fruit and then some toast and marmalade to follow by way of celebration.

Instead of walking, I do some gardening through the day, removing the spikes of wild carrot that are still popping up all over the garden. The Ox Eye Dasies are now going to seed, and so apart from the Musk Mallow and Pyramidal, I could mow the meadow and begin the first stage of next year's show. It has been ten months since the lawn was mowed.

I have a slice of cheese on toast for lunch and carry on working, then take the laptop to the sofa to watch Le Tour: more mountains, more up and down action.

I also had meetings, and ones which I had to concentrate on, so pretend when my boss spoke of Le Tour that I couldn't see it over the top of the computer screen. I must have done well, as he invited me to make a presentation to the department the next day over findings made in the meeting. It may be possible that I know what I'm talking about after all!

Dinner is to be fritters again. Once the cycling is finished, a quite late finish to the last mountain stage, and I am worn out just watching it. Amazing scenes at the end as the winner and leader went over the line at 2,200m above sea level.

The fitters are good, always taste slightly different, and we have some truffle flavoured mayo to dip them in.

Yummy.

Bad news is that the gout is getting worse, and it would cause me pain during the night. But before then we spend the evening listening to the radio and doing our hobbies, but again we were pooped so went to bed dead on nine, and already it was nearly dark.

Winter is coming.