Wednesday 21st January 2026

It is the middle of the week.

Use it well.

And a day in which I do not do pys, but Jools does, and I drop her off as I needed the car.

It was a dreadful day, rain falling hard and would most of the day.

In fact I was going to go out with Jools all day, as after her fitness class, she was catching a train to Bromley for her monthly craft group there, and I would visit the parish church, which I check was open.

And then came the call from Janet.

Janet is Jools's aunt, and Janet needed a lift to the riverside Centre for an eye check as she has diabetes, and her neighbour can't go as he was having chemo.

So, I would not go to Bromley, instead I would pick up Jan at midday and take her into town, wait while she had her check, then ferry her home.

So after dropping Jools off, I had three hours to kill, so checked on the boxes of ragu and jambalaya in the freezer and put them back in reverse date order so we would eat the oldest first.

Dull adult stuff.

But I did it, and the freezer got all angry that the doors were open and the temperature was going up.

Bleep, bleep, bleep.

I am done with that. So have breakfast. Listen to more podcasts and watch videos until it was time to leave.

Jan lives in Whitfield, on one of the many post-war developments that make up Dover and the surrounding area. Getting there involves taking the off junction near the Whitfield roundabout and going past the Holiday Inn.

But traffic was light and I get there with no trouble. Jan sees me and comes out.

And starts talking.

She talks all the way into town, then from the car to the centre, and in the waiting room for the 15 minutes while the eyedrops start working.

Then talks all the way back to Whitfield, and sits in the car for five minutes while she talks some more.

I make it sound like I don't care or am heartless. She meant well, and is nice enough.

Even still it was good to drop her off and be able to drive away, stopping at the Co-Op on the way home for a sandwich and bag of crisps.

And a pack of dark chocolate digestives.

Back home I make a brew and eat lunch, then sit with Scully on the sofa to watch another documentary about Pompei and then double Bangers and Cash.

By that time it was four, and still raining outside.

I wait to five, feed the cats and test Scully, wash up and tidy up.

So I could leave at six to drive back into town to collect Jools from the twenty past six train from Victoria.

Once she emerges from the station, she walks over and climbs in, then back home up Jubilee Way, where the cats say they haven't been fed.

Liars, all.

Pizza for supper, then football as I watch Portsmouth as they are one place below us, so make sure they don't win and leapfrog over us.

They don't. But it was a poor, poor game.