Monday 5th September 2002

I am writing this at seven on Tuesday night. It has been raining. Proper raining driven by a keen westerly wind for two hours. It is a filthy evening, darkness has come an hour early. It looks and feels like autumn.

It was supposed to be like this on Monday, but we had light winds and storms that took all day to drift up the French coast to Calais, then light up our evening skies.

That is tonight.

Monday was calmer. Warmer. Sunnier.

And back to work of course. Though we both slept poorly due to the hot and humid night, and waking up during the night covered with cats.

As you do.

Jools was up at five. I slept on, waking only at ten to six after Jools came for a wash and get dressed before going swimming.

Online was the podcast I did on Saturday. I will post a link when it is published for non-subscribers to see on YouTube.I am pleased, I guess, to see the easy manner I have online, or when I have been on the radio. A marked contrast to when I was first on air in 1998 down in the Falklands when I spoke to less than 2,000 people. I froze.

No such worries now.

Making jokes.

Laughing.

Time for work, then.

Not much to report. The usual stuff.

Sigh.

After work, I went out at three for a walk, up to Collingwood, then up to the first path and along to oe of the butterfly hotspots. Nothing but fresh Common Blues seen.

I walked down Collingwood, then taking the path across the fields, with dozens more Common Blues flying about. The field of lucerne despite being mowed six weeks back, is about to flower again, and I hope to see more butterflies, Clouded Yellows and others, when it does.

The storm radar had been on all day, and the storms drifted up along the French coast, reaching Calais by dusk.

By then we had eaten dinner. Fritters.

And had drank our last coffee of the day.

I looked out the back and clouds were being lit up by lightning. As the minutes ticked by, clouds inched closer to us, and in time distant thunder could be heard.

We sat out until have nine, half the sky was covered by cloud, and there was rain in the air.

We went to bed, and soon fell asleep. Only to be worken by an enormous crash of thunder that set car alarms off. Rain hammered down for a time.

I thought I'd not drop offto sleep again.

I did drop off again. Quickly.