Friday 17th July 2026

In our memories, summers were long, golden, and filled with singing birds and fluttering butterflies.

Do those days exist now?

Bird song, sadly, as scarce now. Even the dawn chorus is muted, except in spring when the birds have other thigs on their minds.

Spring is poor in east Kent for butterflies, but come summer and those season species emerge, as well as second broods of others, the air can still be filled with flutterbies.

The week has reached Friday, and that means bins, and yoga for Jools, and a day off phys for me.

And maybe a lay in!

With no football to watch the evening before, and asleep before nine, I heard Jools get up at five, but nodded off again until nearly six. I make that nine hours, which was pretty good for high summer.

If that is what this is.

So, I get up, get dressed and find a coffee waiting for me. After drinking that, I put out the two bins and consider my day.

I do some stuff in the garden. I water the pot plants and tomatoes, though the latter will ripen when we're away and will wither before then as there'll be no one to water them.

I fill up the wildlife pond, though see no frogs or newts.

After breakfast, as it was the first day of the "Big Butterfly Count", I spent fifteen minutes counting, and see some 22 Gatekeepers, 5 Common Blues, 5 Large whites and a Wall brown.

Not bad.

I sit and look at our garden, butterflies, bees and beetles all busy collecting nectar and spreading pollen. Mulder and Scully settle down at my feet to snooze.

Jools had gone to her knit and natter group, I thought of going to Tesco for the few things we had forgotten, but thought to leave it to Saturday morning.

Le Tour began at midday. The prologue, then the depart and then the race.

Le Tour is heading east now towards the final week and The Alps, so this was the last semi-flat stage for a while, and featured a breakaway for nearly forty riders. The countryside, villages and towns slid by. I tried to stay awake.

I come second in the music quiz, one of only six to guess the correct answer. Now, will I be able to take part from that France next week? We shall see.

And after supper, early to bed at half eight for some much-needed sleep.

It was nearly dark by nine.