Tuesday 16th December 205

It's nearly Christmas, and if you've had your sprouts on a rolling boil since the beginning of September, they should be ready in nine days.

Being a Tuesday, it is a gym day. And as Jools is back at her fitness classes, so I had to be back home with the car so she could leave, by about twenty past seven.

Which is why I was leaving the house at five to six, getting to the sports centre in about ten minutes, then walking up to the gym and getting on the bike.

I did the cycling round the north coast of New Zealand, and finding how to reach where I finished last time, so saw the geothermal park again, and a river tumbling down a series of rapids, before returning to Wellington to peddle round the marina area where there were groups of folks in fancy dress.

Back home, and getting back at five past seven, so Jools had a good half an hour before she had to leave, she made me and herself a brew, before she was gone.

I had a shower and put on some clean clothes, filled up the feeders, put out the recycling waste, and generally made myself busy.

We have come to the point of wanting to use stuff from the fridge before Christmas, so for lunch we had bacon butties and another brew.

Jools had been doing some gardening, while I walked along the track and up to Collingwood before walking to the end and up Station Road before returning home.

I was looking for wild flowers still blooming, just the usual suspects, really, but it was almost sunny, so the colours were vivid, and the sun warm enough to sit on a wall for ten minutes just taking in the smells and colours of our little bit of Kent.

Back home for a sit down, and while Jools ran her Aunt about to another medical appointment, I watched a fine documentary on the BBC about fungi narrated, oddly, by Bjork.

But the cinematography was outstanding.

Then some Bangers and Cash, all the while trying to stay awake.

Always tricky in the afternoon.

Truth is we didn't need supper, but there were five fritters left over from Monday, so I refried those to warm them through, and as it didn't seem enough, we had a coffee and a slice of Christmas cake to follow.

For the evening there was the joy of Cardiff v Chelsea in the League Cup, won by Chelsea, 3-1, but Cardiff were the better side, but gave two goals away playing out from the back.