Saturday 6th April 2024

An exciting, if worrying day ahead.

First up we were getting the decorators in to do up the spare bedroom in preparation for a new carpet laying in a couple of weeks, so one of us was going to have to be in all day.

Jools had done shopping the day before, meaning I go go up the cliffs first thing to look for orchids.

I was last there two weeks back and found only rosettes, and in the meantime hundreds in flower have been recorded in Dorset and on the IoW.

Its just a five minute drive to the car park, and a five minute hobble down the slope, but ten minutes to get back.

Anyway, while the port was busy down below, up on the cliffs, I had them to myself, but despite looking at the best and earliest sites, just rosettes found once again.

Darn it.

I seem to have done my knee again, so have to be careful. So with Storm Margaret due to rip through in the afternoon, best go home to batten down the hatches.

The painter arrived, dropped off by his boss, and he just worked through until four in the afternoon declining any offers of food or drink.

I had a short wait until the stressful part of the day, as at half twelve the Old Farm derby kicked off, Norwich v Ipswich, with Town just six games away from promotion and us clinging onto the final play off spot.

Norwich had not lost in 15 years, but this is a different Ipswich: dynamic and free-scoring, not the agricultural team of Irish Mick.

Anyway, in a turn up, Norwich won, 1-0, with a long range free kick going in. I was too nervous to cheer, but on balance of play thought we deserved it.

That meant a relaxing afternoon and evening listening and then watching the later games, and to make the day perfect, Jools went to collect a Chinese so no cooking for me.