Wednesday 6th July 2022

A day in which the nation's attention was drawn by events surround the Government and whether Johnson would resign. It meant my concentration wasn't 100% on work all of the day.

And the sunny start soon gave way to clouds and a cool breeze.

There is talk of a heatwave from Friday, but that seems optomistic to say the least.

But for now, cool and breezy most of the day, and me not really feeling like going out for a walk.

So, it was a day spent working, staring at two computer screens and drinking coffee and tea.

At one point Poppy came in and was in a very playful mood, played with the speaker cable, and then chased her tail for five minutes, all on the floor of the living room, fearless. It is wonderful to see her so settled now.

The other cats are just as happy, and there are few spats, although Mulder can be relied on to chase either Poppy or Scully once or twich a week. The old cats now rarely jump through the living room window, meaning its an easy escape route for Cleo and Poppy. There was a point when I wondered if Mulder and Scully were too old to jump nearly seven feet to the window, but I have seen them both do it this week, even if it takes them some time to think about it.

THe new house at the bottom of the garden, and then left a bit, is nearly finished. The final landscaping is being done, soil and chalk rubble is being put back after being removed nearly 18 months ago. And the good news is that the view is almost unspoilt, just as the planning permission required.

The day passes slowly, as chaos reigns in Westminster, and it was rather like watching a car crash. It started with PMQs, then went onto a Common Select Committee, and finally to the bunker in Downing Street where he refused to resign. It was all very dramatic, and seemed for a long time that the UK had become more of a banana republic than it has since 2015.

I prised myself away from Twitter long enough to cook pasta and shop-bought sauce. Sometimes its good just to heat things up and eat, not spend hours making tomato sauce and so on.

I opened a bottle of wine to go with it, but stop and two and a bit glasses.

For the evening there was the first game in the Woman' Euros, England v Austria from Old Trafford. I switched between the game and Twitter as political life began to mirror the final scenes from "Downfall" all the more. England won 1-0, and just about deserved it.