Early alarm

 My alarm was not deliberately set. Nevertheless, it went off and woke me for the second time this morning. The first time was a rousing choral performance by Jasper as he worked through "Jerusalem", "Land of Hope and Glory", and "Ode to Joy". This vocal extravaganza started soon after 03:30 and continued until after the encores (and I had gone to the kitchen to open his breakfast bowl).

It has been a quiet day. Diane has been pottering in her study and I have been catching up on the last of the photo filing for 2023. I have also finished reading my latest book and started a new one for the New Year.

We won't be seeing the New Year in. We are both still feeling very rough and need to rest as much as possible.

God Bless you all, and I wish you a very wondrous, healthy, and happy New Year.

Suffering

 It was so nice to get a good night's sleep last night. It was 7:40 before I emerged into a semblance of consciousness. That's the longest I have slept in several weeks.

Diane and I are suffering from pernicious coughs and, in her case, a sore throat. I'm finding it quite exhausting, and I'm sure she is too.

I had my usual chat with the cousins, to start the day. All seemed well with them and we had a good chat. After that, the morning drifted somewhat as I caught up on the news and my emails. Then Di decided to do some tidying up in the Orangery and the corner where we keep rarely used drinks. I helped where relevant and now have a stack of things to return to the garage sometime next week.

The afternoon was spent with our Kindles. There is a very real sense that this year is petering out in this household. It is unlikely that we will screech into the New Year on two wheels singing "Born to be Wild" as we head for the horizon and new adventures. A cup of Lemsip and a blanket may be more appropriate.

Drop-out

 I was up early again so that Ellie could be dropped off. She was like a Zombie when she arrived and we hardly got a word out of her for the first hour or so. She had played up last night and the disruption to her usual schedule had clearly taken its toll.

Diane has developed a sore throat and sounds seriously rattly. My cough is not really subsiding. We decided it was time to contact the Sonning Crew and drop out of the planned New Year's Eve festivities. Neither of us will be clear by Sunday night and we don't want to spread the infection further.

While Di and Ellie got washed and dressed, I headed for the pharmacy to collect the meds Di had ordered, yesterday. From there I went to Sainsbury's to complete our weekly shop. The shop wasn't too busy, but clearly most of the people that were there had been donors in full frontal lobotomies. A patrol with a baseball bat would not have been an unreasonable response to the chaos they were causing... but Sainsbury's had clearly decided against this option.

We had a quiet afternoon as Ellie and Diane played "Operation" until Daren came to collect her. Nothing else is planned for the day.

Chillin'

 I was up early. We were expecting Ellie to be dropped off at 07:00 but in the end, it was gone 7:30 before she arrived. She asked to have a Pyjama day but by mid-morning, she had changed her mind and got dressed properly.

Ellie received a couple of Lego kits for Xmas. They were incredibly fiddly and one was quite complex. Grandpa was pressed into action. Some four hours later, one kit was complete and the other was half-built. I was going boss-eyed trying to identify the tiny little components and construct the model properly. This is something to which I will return once refreshed.

This afternoon was spent with Ellie watching movies on the TV until Darren came to collect her at 16:30. She needed some downtime and sitting quietly in the living room in front of the TV gave her a chance to rest.

Family

Ellie was dropped off soon after 07:00. She had only just woken up and was still only semi-conscious. I gave her a cuddle, then put her back on the living room sofa, covered her in a blanket, and promised she could sleep as long as she wanted. It was a good theory, but in practice, she only lasted about 5 minutes and then decided she wanted to go up and see Nana.

The morning was busy. We had to remove the excess chairs and Christmas detritus from the Orangery and prepare it for lunch today. Jane, Trevor and Mark were due to spend the day with us. I prepared the vegetables and put a leg of lamb in the oven. While the cooking was underway, I prepared the starters and Diane and Ellie laid the tables. I was finding it a bit of a struggle. My cold/cough had returned with a degree of vengeance and it was making me lethargic and I was finding concentration was hard.

Jane, Trevor, and Mark arrived and we had a splendid few hours. Mark is so good with Ellie and they played with her various Xmas presents until it was time to eat. After lunch, we all retired to the living room and had a few hours of chat. Zoe got away from work at a sensible time, so was able to pop in and chat with us all before collecting Ellie and taking her home.

Lazy day

The cough that I have been fighting for the past week became particularly troublesome during the night. Worried that I would wake Diane, I decided the best thing to do would be to get up. So it was that at 05:00 on Boxing Day I was reading the news and enjoying my first coffee of the day.

The morning was suitably quiet. We finished the clearing up from yesterday, and I nipped to Sainsbury's to pick up some carrots and potatoes for tomorrow.

That was about it! We spent the afternoon in front of a film on the TV. A very lazy day. 

Marry Christmas

 There was no need to get up early. Everything was under control. Well, everything except my brain which switched on at 06:45 - and that was it. No lie-in today.

Once suitable caffeinated we started to potter. There were potatoes and carrots to peel. This threw my spreadsheet which had assumed "just in time" preparation - not "prepare hours in advance". The prep was done and the spreadsheet was adapted accordingly. Spare chairs were retrieved and a table was delivered from Zoe's. Tables were laid, snacks were put out, and everything was under control.

Kim and Jon arrived first, soon followed by Zoe and Darren, Ellie and Maddie, and Lorraine and Russ. Once drinks were served, there was an initial pass at the opening of presents. There were so many presents stacked up that we would have to rest, eat lunch, and then return to the chaos for a second pass. (Several 44-ton trucks were lining up by the side gate to collect the discarded wrapping paper and boxes).

Lunch seemed to go down very well. Darren and Zoe had prepared a starter of prawns, crayfish, and lobster. This was followed by the traditional turkey, ham, roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, peas, and Brussels sprouts. I think we gave up at this point, vowing to return for dessert when we had rested.

By about 20:00, everyone had drifted away, leaving Diane and me to a quiet couple of hours in front of the TV.

It had been a lovely Christmas Day.

All Go

 The day started with the weekly cousins' call. It was nice to see everyone and have a chance to wish them a Merry Christmas.

With the call over, I started preparing the Gammon for tomorrow. It started with several hours of simmering away in various spices and herbs.  Then it was drained and left to cool. The rind was removed and the fat scored. A honey-mustard glaze was poured over the joint and went into the oven for an hour. It is now wrapped in foil and I will carve it in the morning.

Diane, meanwhile, has been on a cleaning frenzy. As always when we have guests, every millimetre of the house is cleaned within a nanometre of its life.

While all this was going on I prepared a spreadsheet with tomorrow's menu. Each stage of the cooking was estimated and bit by bit, the start times emerged. All I need is about 27 different timers! I'm now all ready for the morning.

Busy, busy

 Saturday morning started with the usual call with the cousins. A nicer and crazier bunch of people than you would be hard-pressed to find outside of an asylum. We had our usual 40 minutes of madness before wishing each other a Merry Christmas and switching off.

I had various chores lined up in my mental checklist. The first was to get the floors washed throughout the downstairs. With that done, it was time to bring the table in from the garage so that we could start to lay out the Orangery in preparation for the festivities. Next on the agenda was to assemble one of the presents we had got for Ellie. This was fiddly and must have taken well over an hour, but better it is done now that she is demanding it on Christmas Day. With that assembled,  we spent a further hour wrapping her final presents and then managed to get a quiet hour before dinner.

Queue

 Ellie and Grandpa were left to make mischief while Diane went to the hairdresser. Maybe we don't fully embrace the rock and roll lifestyle, but we managed to complete a jigsaw, she did some reading, practised phonics, did some maths puzzles, and looked through a dictionary and a science book. It was a good and productive morning. Just before noon, her friend Ariana (along with her dad, Victor) came to collect Ellie for a playdate.

Diane returned from the hairdresser and went back out to collect her meds (the saga that began yesterday). She arrived at the pharmacy to find them queueing outside the door. Let's hope they have the correct prescription this time. Well, they didn't. Only because it was already out for delivery, so Diane could return home safe in the knowledge that she would have all the meds she required.

As soon as Diane returned, I nipped out in the car. I had to pick up some cat litter and then top up a few bits for the weekend. The Sainsbury's car park was an absolute zoo. I played my usual trick and deliberately selected a slot that was as far from the store as possible. I then walked and overtook most of the cars that had been ahead of me. It was pretty chaotic in the store but eased off after a while and was quite a leisurely shop.

Back home, Diane was wrapping presents. I got involved and before too long, they were all completed and stacked under the tree.

Ellie's friend brought her home just in time for Pete to sweep her up and take her home for the weekend.

Cousins

Ellie burst into the house. She was wide awake and eager to swing into the day. She was being picked up by a school friend for a playdate. So it was that at 9:30 she disappeared for the rest of the morning. Meanwhile, Diane went out to try and sort out a shortfall in her meds provision. Needless to say, this did not go smoothly. She will try again in the morning.

I started clearing the Orangery in preparation for the forthcoming celebrations.

I wandered around to collect Ellie from Sophia's then, when we had finished a snack lunch, we loaded the car. We had been due to visit Trevor and Sue last weekend but my cold prevented that. Now that I am fairly well recovered we could try again. We drove across to Brighton and joined the inherent chaos of their home at Xmas time. Ellie was delighted as her cousins, Cara and Emma, had arrived just before us. We spent a pleasant couple of hours with them all, catching up on family news and plans.

We left after a couple of hours and made our way back. The plan was to get back in time for the Rotary Santa Claus parade that is scheduled for this evening.

First Dentist

 Ellie was dropped off and we got ready for a trip to Chichester. Ellie had her first appointment with the dental hygienist at our Dental Clinic. Traffic was slow as we approached the town. It was clearly going to be busy.

Diane and Ellie peeled off to visit the dentist while I headed into the shops to pick up some perfume that Diane had requested. Boots didn't have the "Eau de Toilette" (which is what Diane had requested) so I returned to Superdrug, but they didn't stock any Miss Dior products. After an exchange of text messages, I returned to Boots and took the "Parfum". Sorted.

Ellie had got on very well at the dentist and they were pleased with her. The next check will be in 6 months. We returned to the car and headed home. The traffic heading into Chichester was almost in gridlock. I'm so glad we had to get there early and were now heading home.

After lunch, Diane and Ellie headed for the "Messy Church". This seems to be a craft session organised by the local church. Ellie came back clutching the various things that she had made. She'd obviously had a good time. Meanwhile, Kim had popped in to see me before heading to the Bognor Hospital for an appointment with the RA specialist. She was still here when Diane and Ellie returned, but only had a few minutes with them before she had to go.

Ellie stayed with us for dinner and was collected by Zoe as she came home from work.

Slide by slide

The main item on today's agenda was to complete the Xmas shopping - in regards of the food and drink. Zoe had volunteered to come along and give us a hand. Before we got a change to start on that, however, I was called to her house. Poppy the Elf had been inventive overnight and a huge hanging swing had magically found its way into the living room from the garden. It had to be moved and Darren was out at work all day.

Eventually, we did head to Sainsbury's where we met the local store manager. After a 10 minute chat, we finally ploughed in among the aisles. It didn't take too long - but we did fill two trolleys. We also made a significant contribution to Sainsbury's annual profits. 

We had a quiet hour or two in the afternoon. We had agreed to meet up with Zoe and Ellie and accompany them to the Light Trail in Hotham Park, and visit the funfair. Unfortunately, we had realised that the light show finished on Sunday. This explained why the park was so dark (and the car park so empty)!

We made our way to the funfair. There wasn't a huge selection of rides, but Ellie and Zoe went on the Runaway Train, and into the Ice Palace (which was a maze). 

Eventually, we plucked up the courage and got tickets for the skating rink. They provided some clever clip-on skates that Ellie could wear over her boots. Each boot then had two parallel set of blades for stability. I had a pair of hard plastic skates which clamped closed and bruised every bone in my foot.

It took a few minutes to gain some confidence on the ice. It is, after all, 52 years since I lasted skated. The biggest problem that I was finding was the lack of momentum as I had to keep pace with Ellie. She was doing very well. I half expected this to be a flash in the pan and she would stop after a couple of laps. Oh no! She was loving it. In the end we were probably on the ice for about 30-40 minutes. Better still, we Bothe escaped without bruises or injuries.

It was a shame about the light trail, but we had a good time any way.

Own Bed

I returned to my own bed last night. My cough eased to the point that I felt it unlikely to disturb Diane.

Once I was up and about with caffeine pulsing through my veins I checked on the latest status from DHL regarding my new MacBook. I was delighted to see that it had landed in the UK and was already nestling in the distribution centre in Southampton. At this point, I was hopeful it might get on tomorrow's delivery rounds (though it wasn't due until Wednesday). Within an hour I had a text message saying it would be delivered this morning. This was brilliant. The whole lifecycle has taken less than a week. I ordered it late on Monday afternoon. By Wednesday it had been dispatched from the factory in Chengdu. By Thursday it had cleared customs in China. On Friday it completed its clearance in Hong Kong. On Saturday it was in transit. By Sunday evening it was in the UK and en route for Southampton. At about 11:40 this morning it was handed over by the local courier.

With the new MacBook nestling on the kitchen table, I headed into the village. I had a few more Xmas cards to post and was in dire need of a haircut. I was expecting a wait as schools had broken up and we were in the run-up to Xmas. But no! I walked in and was immediately shown to a chair and processed.

Back home, I turned my attention to the MacBook. I went through the normal setup and then immediately upgraded MacOS from Ventura to Sonoma. Excel and Word were installed and I have a perfectly functioning MacBook

Self Isolation

My overnight self-isolation continues. My fits of coughing are still fairly explosive and would seriously disturb Diane. As it happens, Ellie's bed is quite comfortable, so sleeping in there hasn't been an issue. I'm still suffering from cold hands and feet and I am still quite achy and lethargic.

As the day ticked by, I wrote a few Xmas cards and sent all but one of the electronic cards.  This seems a more ecologically sound approach, other than the fact that the recipient cannot really display the card.

By late afternoon, my lethargy seemed to be lifting and I was starting to feel a bit more normal. I have also managed to go through the afternoon without any of the paroxysms of coughing that have filled the previous days.

Zoe has just dropped by. She presented us with 2 legs of lamb. They had been reduced from over £20 to £6 a piece. They are now nestling in the freezer. She is threatening to get some large beef joints, too.

Banished

I continued with my self-imposed banishment and slept in the spare bed. Though I was significantly better than the night before, I still woke with a cough which would have disturbed Diane. It made more sense to stay in the back of the house where there was a chance I wouldn't be heard. Despite the odd coughing fit and a trip to the loo, I slept well.

Today I feel a lot better but still ache from all of the coughing.

I had the usual cousins' call. Other than Xmas preparations, there was little to report. There was the usual socialist diatribe from Tim - convinced that anyone earning a large salary did nothing to deserve it. I took umbrage at this but before he could respond, the Zoom call timed out.

We managed to raid Sainsbury's after the call. At least we have something for Sunday lunch!

Diane has spent most of the afternoon in a cleaning frenzy followed by some further decorating for Xmas.

Shakin’ All Over

Yesterday, as the day wore on, I started to get the shakes and shivers. There were shivers down the backbone, shivers down the thigh bone. In fact, I was shakin’ all over. We decided that it didn’t make sense to share a bed and keep Diane awake with my spluttering and coughing. I moved into Ellie’s room but couldn’t drop off to sleep. After a while, I became aware of an intermittent quiet beeping sound. I put up with it for a couple of hours, then decided I had endured it for long enough. I started hunting the errant device. I wandered around the house. I checked the smoke detectors - they were fine. I eventually narrowed it down to my study. It was our old house phone. The battery was running down but it wasn’t one that I could remove. In the end, I put it in the back of the fridge and shut the door. Silence.

Ellie was dropped off - but we kept her well clear of me. At 09:30 she went to play with her friend Maddie, and stayed with her until early afternoon, when Darren collected her. 

I spent the morning rebuilding Ellie's laptop for the third time. The previous two attempts had made no difference to the problem Zoe originally reported. This time it all burst back into life and seems to have recovered from its sulk.

I went bacl to bed for a while. Diane made a start on the Xmas cards. I should have gone to Sainsbury's but just didn't feel up to it. That will have to wait for tomorrow. Currently, I'm not shivering but if I put my head down, my nose and eyes pour like a bath tap. I'm hoping they will dry up overnight.

Dinner and Dentist

I parked on the west bank of the River Arun and took this picture as I walked across the bridge to the venue for the club's Xmas Dinner. We had a good turnout with about 25 or 30 attendees. The Arun View did us proud with an excellent Xmas dinner with all the trimmings. The club paid for the food, but we bought our own drinks. As I had the car, it was cheap. I stuck to water.

I'm sure some club members went to sample the nightlife of Littlehampton as we broke up. I said my goodbyes and wandered back across to the car and was home just after 22:00.

Darren took care of the school run this morning, so we had a quiet start. (Though I do appear to have a mild attack of plantar fasciitis). Ocado delivered a little late so we could not hit Sainsbury's before it was time for us to go into Chichester. Diane had some shopping to do, and I was due at the dentist. I had a few minutes to spare when we arrived, so made the most of it and bought a new tracksuit at Sports Direct. After being given a clean bill of health by the dentist, we met up for a coffee before heading home.

By the time I got home, I was running a full-flood cold that seemed to attack from nowhere. I daren't stray more than a few feet from the box of tissues at present.

Ellie has just broken up for the Xmas holiday, so I suspect we will be seeing her most days now.
 

Goal(s)

 We had the usual Ellie drop-off. She had already had breakfast so she was eager to play and to do some reading for school. We let her read and then filled in her progress book before taking her off to class.

Diane had Pilates in Angmering, so I dropped her off on my way through to Worthing for football. We had a good 6-a-side game. I was playing for the Orange team. I opened the scoring having pounced on poor clearance from the yellow goalkeeper and hit it past him before he could react. By halftime we were 3-0 up (including another assist from yours truly). In the second half the yellow team swapped goalies. They started to claw back into the game. It was close run thing, but it ended 5-5 (including my second goal of the day).

I picked Diane up on my way back and we had some lunch before grabbing a quiet hour before collecting Ellie.

I have the football club Xmas Dinner tonight. Hopefully, it will all go smoothly and there will be the bare minimum of arrests.

Better

Zoe told us that Ellie had slept well, was feeling better and was eager to go to school. I trotted around to the house and we walked Ellie to school as usual.

After some breakfast, I started the unpacking of the decorations.  I had to track down the lights and determine which set goes where. Then I had to wait to find the clips for hanging the lights. Eventually, I was ready. The problem was that it had started to rain. The lights could wait for a break in the weather. The tree was next and was soon standing proudly in the corner of the living room. Diane would spend several hours dressing the tree while I managed to finish the lights between showers.

I got a call from Zoe. She had applied an update to Ellie's Microsoft Surface and seems to have lost most of her icons and the taskbar. I went around to see what I could do to help. After much fiddling, I concluded that I needed to get a clue. I suggested a factory reset and rebuild. She agreed. I have now spent the last several hours doing a factory reset and cleaning the disk before doing a rebuild. The rebuild is now complete and I have set up a new account for Ellie. The taskbar is still blank. The screen looks the same as it did 4 hours ago. Doh! I'm not a happy bunny.

Diane and Kim are out for the evening at the ballet. They have gone to see "The Nutcracker" at Havant.

Ooops. Order!

We were up and ready for Ellie to be dropped off. It was clear, when she did arrive, that she was not fit for school. Her temperature kept spiking but a dose of Calpol seemed to bring it back down for a while. Despite feeling rough, she has been a chirpy would throughout the day. We have done jigsaws, written her Christmas cards, played her version of boules with some foam eggs, done pages of sums, played word games with the dictionary, and done pages of spelling. Darren came along to collect her at 17:00 and as long as her temperature remains stable, she should be back at school in the morning. 

Alongside entertaining Ellie, we have refined our Xmas card list - which is always a challenge. I opened up the MacBook to start on this. Nada. Nothing happened. I recharged it. Nothing happened. I tried every trick I could think of but they all failed. I clearly have a dead MacBook. This is not a tolerable situation, but I consol myself that it is very old (but aren't we all?)

 There was nothing for it but to order a new one. After due consideration, I ordered a new MacBook Air which should arrive before Christmas.

Restless

We both had a restless night. I didn't seem to drop into a deep sleep, floating on the edge of consciousness throughout the night. Never mind, I was comfortable.

We had a lazy start to the day, with a very leisurely breakfast while reading the news. I then had to return to a task I had started yesterday. I was looking for the details of a TV we bought when we moved here and subsequently gave to Kim and Jon. It took a bit of hunting, but my records are well organised and after a while, the receipt and all of the details emerged from my digital archives.

I returned to my cross-checks on the network, stemming from Friday's change of router. Everything still seems okay, but barnowl (while online) seems to be hiding. I will need to resolve this later.

I dug all of the Xmas decorations out of the garage this afternoon so that we can start on them when we are ready. We have also finalised the Xmas Day attendee list so that I now know how big the mountain of food needs to be.

Out for Lunch

I woke with a start. It was 7:45. That is a lovely surprise but always makes me feel guilty for being so lazy. After some breakfast, I had the cousins' call. 

We had plans. We were to meet up with Denise, Dom, and Rebecca for lunch. Google Maps had warned of delays on the M3 due to a collision. I kept a check on alternatives and in the end, we chanced the M3 route. It was a good decision. We had a brilliant run, arriving 1 hour and 20 minutes after leaving home. We were meeting at "The Craven Arms" and Enborne, again. 

We settled down with some coffee and awaited the Buckingham contingent. Once we were all together the inevitable chat started and lunch was ordered. Diane had soup to start with and followed up with scampi. I started with southern fried chick strips and followed up with a BBQ pork burger. It was all delicious and the portions were huge. While we ate we caught up on all the news from the family. It was a lovely few hours.

By 16:00 it was time to go. Some photos were taken around the Christmas tree and presents were exchanged in the car park (in the traditional way). Then we said our goodbyes and hit the road. We had another excellent run home.

Early doors

 It was 04:04 and I was awake. I tried to settle, but couldn't. I was incensed by the fact that Royal Mail had accepted a contract from EE to deliver my new equipment within 24 hours. The equipment was dispatched on Tuesday evening.  It wasn't until Wednesday that it left Yorkshire. On Thursday morning I was told it would arrive by 19:00. At 17:38 the tracking system said it had been rescanned for delivery on Friday. So it had been in their system for 48 hours and still hadn't been delivered. What galled me was that an engineer was due to arrive at 10:00 on Friday to install the equipment that still had yet to arrive.

By 06:00 I gave up. I got up and went down for a coffee. At 08:00 I phoned the Royal Mail and after sitting on hold for 25 minutes got through to a chap with an indecipherable accent to ask if I could go and collect the errant delivery. He didn't seem to know or care and suggested I go to the Delivery Office and ask...

I tried to contact BT/EE and intercept the engineer. No luck. They couldn't make changes within 24 hours of the appointment.

I went to the Bognor delivery office. I finally met someone who cared. She listened to the problem, checked the status and saw it had just been loaded onto a van for delivery this afternoon. She charged out into the yard and stopped the van. The package was retrieved and handed over. I could breathe.

Diane went off to Cardiac Rehab and soon after she left, the engineer arrived and installed the kit. He wasn't here for more than 20 minutes and when he left I went around the house and checked the status of all of the WiFi and Ethernet-connected devices. Everything seems to be working and I seem to be getting a 930Mbps download speed with 110Mbps uploads. The best part is that I am getting all of this for £10 per month less than before.

The other major activity for the day has been to cook another batch of curry. It has been bubbling away quietly for 5 hours this afternoon and tastes fantastic. Seven further portions have been put into the freezer for subsequent weeks.

Wet, wet, wet

It was a normal start to the day with Ellie being dropped off. She had breakfast and then went to play in her bedroom until it was time for school. The weather forecast had predicted heavy rain, but we were still dry when it was time for the school run.

Ocado was a little late this morning, but once stowed, we headed for Sainsbury's and the weather was still dry. It didn't last. We had quite a long list to attend to, and by the time we left, it was raining. By the time we got home, it was pouring down and continued like that for the rest of the day.

I collected Ellie from school, and she stayed with us until Zoe collected her at 17:40.

It should be a quiet evening, but I am expecting a delivery of EE broadband equipment in the next hour. I won't play with it. It can wait until the morning when their engineer comes to "help" with the installation.

Teamwork

Ellie was dropped off soon after 07:00. She was a bundle of joy this morning, having slept well last night. After the Elf had been found and breakfast finished she took herself up to her bedroom and played quietly until it was time for school.

Once back from the school run, we had a quiet 30 minutes before heading out into the wide blue yonder. Diane had an appointment with some Pilates and I had a football match. The football was a 5-v-6 / 6-v-5 game with one player swapping sides at halftime. I started on the team with 5 and had to play as an attacking midfielder - not a position I normally occupy. As it happens the other team scored first but we responded within minutes with a well-worked goal from Mark. Then I scored, and by halftime, the score was 3-1. In the second half, we had the extra man. Our teamwork continued to dominate the pitch. We scored 4 more goals without a reply. One of those goals was mine. It was a good game and we all had fun.

I collected Diane and we headed home for some lunch and a quiet hour for recuperation. Diane went to surgery during the afternoon to get her shingles jab. I caught up on some admin while she was gone.

We didn't have to worry about collecting Ellie today. She was going home with her friend, Maddie. We'll see her first thing in the morning though.

Browsing

I was on escort duty this morning. Zoe had a day off so I reported at the door and we marched off school. Ellie has two performances of the play today. She was pumped up and ready.

Back home, Diane and I hopped in the car and headed for Shripney. We started at the M&S Food Hall where we wandered the aisles looking for inspiration for Christmas meals. I think we were both disappointed. All of the traditional fair was there, but there was nothing that made you stop replan Christmas. From M&S we moved on to Aldi. Again, we were a bit underwhelmed. Maybe we are still a week early for the seasonal goodies.

Diane met up with Zoe after lunch and they made their way to the school for the afternoon performance. I stayed behind and waded through the various supermarket websites looking for inspiration. I failed. I have a menu in mind, but something a bit different would have been fun.

I've printed the first pass of the Xmas card list. This is for editing before I start printing the envelope labels. (You would almost think I am organised - you would almost be wrong).

Early

I will start by reminding you that I have retired. I make this point to justify my assertion that 04:45 in the morning is a ridiculous time to wake up and realise that the little gearwheels in my brain have started to turn. That was it. I was awake... and have been ever since.

Ellie was dropped off at her usual time and started the hunt for Poppy the Elf. The elf had been sneaky and contorted herself into a mason jar and hidden in the fridge. It didn't take long for her to be found. We could call off the West Sussex search volunteers. Today would see the first performance of the school play. Ellie was very excited and would be playing the part of an angel. We dropped her off at school at the usual time and then went home for breakfast.

Diane was going out for the day with her friend Kathie. The plan was to meet up at Petworth House and tour the Christmas displays. I set up the SatNav and off she went. I then spent several hours trying to change some of the settings on our TV. I wanted to get a Bluetooth keyboard connected, but try as I did, I just couldn't get them to pair. I did, however, experiment with swapping the Internet connection from Ethernet to WiFi. This worked, so I will leave it running for a few days to see if there are any downsides. With the impending changes to my Broadband service, I revisited the section in my documentation (Our Home Computing Guide) that describes our existing network. This will help when the new network is commissioned and the document will clearly need some revision.

After lunch, I went to the school to watch the first performance of the school play. Unfortunately, Ellie was somewhat hidden except when she was on stage. They all did a brilliant job and it was a very funny send-up of Strictly Come Dancing with the Nativity as a retrospective theme. Zoe and Diane will get to watch it tomorrow. After the show, I just had time to walk home, have a cup of tea, and walk back to collect Ellie at the end of the school day.

Diane arrived home at about 16:15 having had an excellent day at Petworth. Darren arrived soon after and collected Ellie.

All Change

Jasper had a disturbed night. This means that we had a disturbed night. Maybe it is the Christmas Season and he was practising his carols, or some Christmas plainsong but I can assure you that it was not welcome throughout the night.

While parts of the country had woken to heavy overnight snow, we were greeted by rain. It was not a passing greeting. It was a greeting that came and went throughout the day. Stuck indoors, Diane did some spring (or is it winter) cleaning. I chipped in with a deep clean of the window shutters upstairs. Once that was done, I phoned BT. There appears to be a push to move people from BT to EE for domestic services. This was confirmed by my conversation with Wayne, from the Cornwall Loyalty Centre. BT are moving domestic services to EE and retaining commercial services themselves. After an hour-long conversation, I started the process of switching our services to EE. This means a £10 per month reduction in monthly bills, an increase in Broadband speed from 500mbps to 900mbps, an increase in mobile phone data from 20GB to unlimited, and the consolidation of the bills into one. Seems like a win.

Not much else to report. Have a great day.

Early Breakfast

As we prepare for bed, I put out a bowl of cat food for Jasper and load the timed-release bowl to open up for breakfast at about 06:00. Last night it was clear that Jasper wasn't impressed with his late-night supper. He ignored it. This meant that he became hungry overnight. By two-ish, he was mewling and walking all over us. By three he was chanting, walking all over us, and I suspect carrying a placard saying "Feed Me". By 03:30 I had had enough. I went down and opened his breakfast bowl. Within minutes, all was quiet. Fussy little so and so.

I had the usual cousins' call in the morning and then spent the rest of the morning making further refinements to the accounting spreadsheet and learning about a function that I never previously knew; "Formulatext". This has improved the annual set-up for a new year's spreadsheet. It analyses a particular set of formulae and ensures that I have remembered to update them for the current month of the current year. I'm really rather pleased with the way that has worked.

Early afternoon saw the delivery of a new Kindle for Diane.  Her (very) old one was beginning to have problems, so I decided to replace it with the latest model. As usual, it took a little while to get set up. I must say that it seems very crisp and has controls that allow control of the backlight for night reading. Seems quite impressive, so far.

Just pottering

It had been a sub-zero night. Ellie was dropped off at her usual time and we sorted out her breakfast while she sought Poppy the Elf and told us about her own Elf back home. Once breakfast was finished, Ellie went upstairs to join Nana, brush her teeth, and get her hair done. I whipped outside to start the car and sit in it while the front and rear defrosters did their job. Diane would be going out and I wanted to ensure that she wouldn't be delayed. We walked Ellie to school, and then Diane headed off for some additional cardiac rehab. (This proved to be very low intensity and she has decided to step up to the higher level next week).

While Diane was out, I got on with breakfast and then cleared the family room so that I could steam clean the floors before she got back. The rest of the morning was spent chatting and pottering around until lunch. I took the opportunity to cook a gammon joint, and once it was cooled, I ran it through my slicer for a big plate of ham slices.

We had our usual quiet reading session until it was time to collect Ellie. Today, collection would include a tour of the school's Christmas Fair - this is not my scene, so I left this in Diane's capable hands. Despite the Fair, they were back sooner than expected. Ellie had a mad half hour before Zoe arrived to collect her.

To Sleep Perchance to Dream

I slept well. Very well. My watch/iPhone tells me that I was in bed for 7 Hours and 33 minutes and was asleep for 7 hours and 30 minutes. I do not remember waking at all during the night. I would suggest this analysis is spot-on! Ellie was dropped off soon after 7:00 and was full of beans. It would appear that she had received a letter from Santa and the Elves overnight and was eager to share it with us. She was also excited that a few lonesome snowflakes were drifting down. It was unlikely to come to anything, but it was definitely snow! We dropped her at school and then went home for breakfast and to await Ocado's delivery.

After the shopping was put away, we headed for Sainsbury's. As we approach Christmas it is becoming clear that more and more aisle zombies are escaping from their compounds. It hasn't become desperate yet, but soon I think I will have to go armed with a bat wrapped in barbed wire. It may seem extreme, but I think it is fair. If you insist on blocking the aisles with your trolley and wandering away to seek food or to chat with friends, then you have brought it on yourselves. No court would convict me.

We had our usual quiet time after lunch. Diane has now finished her latest book and I am halfway through mine. It was bleak and cold, so at 15:00 I told Diane to stay put in the warm and I went to collect Ellie. She was her usual chirpy self and was particularly pleased to have scored 100% on her latest test. She wasn't with us for too long as Darren came to collect her soon after 16:00.

Off the Bench

Ellie was dropped off and again she had already had breakfast and was dressed and ready for school. This gave her plenty of time to read her latest book to me and then reread it to Diane. We dropped her off at school and headed home.

It was a quick change and then we headed out of the door. I was dropping Diane at the Angmering Community Centre for her first session of Pilates for many months. I carried on to Worthing and got changed ready for my first game of football in several months. I warmed up carefully as the muscles had been underused and it was quite chilly. The match kicked off with 7-a-side. The teams looked well-balanced but it was at least 10 minutes before the first goal. We were down 1-0 but that only lasted for a couple of minutes as we pulled one back (with an assist from me). I then managed to hit the inside of the post and was horrified to see the ball spin out of the goal. At half-time, with another assist from me, we were winning 1-2. The second half saw a bit of a shuffle around in our team. We quickly conceded but with my third assist of the game, we drew ahead again. That was how it finished, we had won 2-3. Best of all, I was still feeling pretty sprightly.

I went back to collect Diane and we headed home for lunch. She had done really well at Pilates, according to her friends and the instructor. Better still, she had really enjoyed it.

After lunch, I grabbed my Kindle and sat down to read. That didn't happen. I just crashed out and slept for an hour.

We collected Ellie from school and she stayed with us until Darren came to collect her, soon after 16:00.

Ladies who Chat

It was a slightly more relaxed start to the day. Ellie wasn't being dropped off, so I had a coffee and read the news before getting dressed and venturing out in the chilly morning to Zoe's. Ellie deposited at the classroom door and I headed home for breakfast while Zoe headed home for a well-deserved day off.

Diane was scheduled to meet up with Pauline. She headed off to Angmering and I was left to my own devices. In this instance, the devices were my iMac computer and the carpet spot cleaner (not together, but serially). Some admin was completed and further pass made through the 1970s Journals. Then I attacked a dubious mark left by Jasper on the lounge carpet. It took several treatments, but eventually, the carpet was spotless.

Meanwhile, back in Angmering, Diane and Pauline were cruising the displays in Haskins, drinking coffee, and talking. Now if talking was an Olympic sport, these two would be rivals for the Gold Medal. If chat could generate electricity, we could stop building solar farms. Diane's alarm was set for 13:30 with a view to escaping by 14:00. It was closer to 14:25!

Having warmed up with Pauline, Diane phoned Denise when she got home. She was on a roll!

Back to Normal

 We were back to normal. Ellie was dropped off soon after 07:00. She had been awake since the early hours when she heard Zoe get up for work. By the time she came to us, she had finished breakfast and was already dressed for school. This meant we had plenty of time to do some reading, and to start on some puzzles in the science book I bought her last week.

With Ellie deposited at school and breakfast complete, I headed to the Skoda dealership. I was intent on getting the Skoda Connect functions working. It took a bit of waiting around, but they finally found a chap to help. We discussed the issue and then went out to the car. After a few false starts, the correct incantation was found and a new set of menus popped up. We had contact. We were finally connected to Skoda.

Back home we had a few chores and the usual administrivia to complete, but with that cleared, we settled down with our books until it was time to collect Ellie.

Chill

It was cold overnight. I was greeted by a frost when I looked out the window while nursing my morning coffee. By mid-morning the cold, damp, grey morning had turned damp and wet. Today was not a day for sunbathing.

We could leave it no longer. We were out of milk. Diane would not be able to have her tea. A trip to Sainsbury's to stock up was at the top of our agenda. When I first pulled into the car park, my heart sank. It looked incredibly busy. I needn't have worried. The corpses that usually shuffle around on Thursdays had obviously been put off by the weather. Today's shoppers, in general, seemed to be shopping with a purpose.

Most of the rest of the day has been spent pottering. The accounts were updated. A book was finished. Roast dinner was cooked and devoured. It has been a nice quiet day.

A quiet Saturday

Now that was a good night's sleep! You just can't beat your own bed, however good the hotel might be.  I joined the usual Saturday morning cousins' call. It is clear that Helen was quite under the weather at present, but everyone else seemed hale and hearty.

Jasper was our next agenda item. We drove across to collect him from the Cattery. The Cat Whisperer greeted us on crutches. He has hurt his back and it is making life quite difficult at present. We collected Jasper and he started his usual chanting. This didn't just last until we arrived home. It continued well into the afternoon. He seems a little out-of-sorts but we'll see if he settles overnight.

Diane has been catching up on the holiday laundry and we both had some quiet time in the Orangery. I spent some of it reading the manual for the Skoda, trying to get to the bottom of the installation, functions, and limitations of the in-built SIM. I have arranged to go to the dealer on Monday and get it working properly.

I found out this afternoon that the aircraft fuselage that we followed yesterday was the front 60 feet of a BAC 1-11 and it was being relocated from RAF St Mawgan to the Solent Air Museum in Southampton. I'm glad we didn't have to follow that the whole way!

Going home

I was up early. Diane hadn't slept well so she too was soon up and about. I finished the last bits of my packing and started to ferry bags, balloons, gifts, and shopping down to the car. Though there was some cloud, the day looked promising.

We met up with Jane and Trevor over breakfast and then finished loading the car. We set off soon after 10:30. The journey started fairly well and we made good time until we found ourselves stuck behind an accident. Having cleared that hold-up, we saw an "exceptional load" pull onto the dual carriageway a few cars ahead. A police escort ensured nobody passed (not that there was sufficient space to overtake). We followed this load (an aircraft fuselage) for about 40 miles until we reached the M5. Once on the motorway, we could overtake and had a pretty clear run all the way home along the A35, A31, and M27. We had a brief comfort break and fuel stop at Bridport. Overall, the journey took about 5 hours and 40 minutes. 

Once home and with the car unloaded, Diane went through the birthday post that had arrived in our absence and I prepared dinner. We then sank into our armchairs for a quiet evening.

Last Day

Today is the last day of the current trip. The weather is clearly sulking as we were greeted with wall-to-wall cloud. At least it wasn’t raining. We went down to breakfast and were surprised to see how busy it was. Evidently there was a flurry of check-ins yesterday. Trevor and Jane were running a bit late as Trevor had woken with a nosebleed which took some attention.

The plan for the day was fluid, but centred on Falmouth itself. The four of us walked into town and made our way to the National Maritime Museum which was hosting an exhibition on Pirates. Much of the rest of the museum was closed off as they were doing maintenance on the main display space. The ships and boats that had been there during our last trip had all been removed and workmen were scurrying about doing whatever was needed. We started with the displays on Cornish seafaring and the Falmouth Packet service then moved on to the exhibition on Pirates. It was all very well done, and very enjoyable. Before leaving the museum we went to the top of the watchtower. This afforded us excellent views over the harbour, though there were no Naval vessels nor other large ships in port today.

From the museum we took Jane and Trevor to see the small fisherman’s cottage in which we stayed during our last visit then crossed the road for a drink in “The Chain Locker” opposite. To add to the entertainment, the young girl behind the bar lit the wood-burner and promptly set off the fire alarms. A few moments of panic ensued as the staff opened all the doors to let the smoke out, and phoned the fire brigade to tell them it was a false alarm.

After our drink and all the excitement we left and continued our walk through town. Diane and I got waylaid at the bookshop… and left clutching a bag full of books and maps. Jane and Trevor had gone ahead for their own shopping. We ended up meeting over a cup of tea in a small cafe before heading for Trago Mills. To be fair, it was a lot less frantic than our trip on Monday. Diane was able to pick up the items she wanted and the 20% pensioners discount and the £7-off vouchers made the purchases very reasonable. 

Clutching our various purchases we made our way slowly back to the hotel for a quiet hour before dinner.

St Ives

We both slept well. I was awake early and showered and dressed soon after seven. A red line was visible along the horizon and as the minutes ticked by we were treated to an amazing sunrise. Diane had to use her blood analyser today. This is the first time it has been used in the situation for which it was intended, i.e. when the test is due and we are away from home. Results were submitted and we had received the response from the hospital before we went down for breakfast.

The plan for the day was to visit St Ives and the Tate St Ives Gallery. Trevor had volunteered to drive today so we settled into the back of car and were whisked across country. As we headed north-west the clouds became more prevalent and it was clear that the. Weather had not read the weather forecast. By the time we arrived there a cool, stiff breeze was blowing across the bay and a fine drizzle came and went throughout the visit.

We made our way to the Gallery, bought our tickets and headed for the coffee shop. This afforded stunning views over the town and over the bay. It also served horrible coffee. I should have seen that as an omen. With coffee under our belt we headed down to the Gallery’s 10 exhibition spaces. Po-faced attendants sat in each gallery trying to stay awake and not dying of boredom. Pretentious visitors stood in front of anything with a description-panel hoping to find some morsel of talent or artistic merit in whatever was in front of them. The most interesting exhibit was actually an installation of two buckets which caught drips from a leak in the ceiling. Whilst there was a warning notice, the artist wasn’t revealed. Trevor and I had soon had our fill and escaped into the wind and rain. Diane and Jane persevered. As Trevor and I sat in the circular outside meeting space, “The Temple of Pretension” students started to gather until the whole space was full. Their lecturers took the attendance register and they started to file into the Gallery. Bringing up the rear was one of the lecturers. I asked him “What on earth have these kids done that deserves a punishment this severe?” He laughed and responded “Not impressed then?”. He then divulged the most interesting fact about the Tate St Ives. The reason it is built in the circular temple-like fashion is that it occupies the site of the old gas storage tank (gasometer?) for the town.

When the girls emerged we pottered down the hill and into the town itself. The town made up for the Gallery. It was absolutely charming - though I can imagine that it’s an absolute zoo in high season. 

As we made our way down the lanes and byways we stopped into various shops until we got down to the harbour itself. By then the timer was running down on the car park so we had to turn back to the car. The wind had picked up and the drizzle was cheeky enough to morph into a wind-blasted rain. Diane found the walk into the wind rather breathtaking and we had to stop for a few moments to let her catch her breath.

Diane and Jane wanted to visit the “Sea Salt” factory outlet while down here so the SatNav was set and we stopped off at the edge of Penryn on our way back to Falmouth. They swept into the store while Trevor and I walked up to Asda for a comfort break and a cup of tea. We then went back and waited in the car while several glaciers melted, continents drifted apart, and Jupiter did another circuit of the sun. Eventually, the boot was opened and their purchases loaded in. The front of the car needed to be weighed down to counterbalance the new load in the boot. We limped back to the hotel for a quiet hour before meeting for dinner.

It has been another super day

Birthday

Today is the day on which the World celebrates Diane’s Birthday. And it looks as if we have a promising start to the morning. The mists of yesterday have gone and while there is some cloud drifting away to the west, there is also a lovely clear sky. Opening up from the east. Diane has just been sipping on her morning tea while opening her cards and presents.. We are planning an earlier breakfast today so that we can get on the road and spend the day in Polperro.

Breakfast was the usual feast as we set ourselves up for the day. We gathered by the car and by 10:00 were on our way (with a fuel stop in Falmouth). The route was fairly slow until we had cleared Truro. After about 90 minutes we pulled into the Polperro car park, near the Crumplehorn Mill. It is many years since our last visit, but it. Doesn’t seem to have changed at all.

We took a walk down to the village and then cut around the back to arrive at the west side of the harbour. Coffee was uppermost in our minds so we settled into The Three Pilchards for some well needed caffeine and to avail ourselves of their “facilities”. These “facilities” were nestling in the yard behind the pub, reached by a small steep staircase. I can imagine this is a source of amusement and injury as the beers flow on a party night.

We continued our tour round and onto the harbour wall. Polperro is still one of the most picturesque villages I have ever visited. (Over the years I have probably taken more photos in Polperro than almost anywhere else). We slowly retraced our steps and crossed the old bridge to the east side of the harbour and then walked along towards the Heritage Museum, which is closed until Easter - we decided not to wait.

We turned and wandered back slowly. A pasty shop leapt out in front of us. It would be rude to spend time in Cornwall and not indulge in one of their famous pasties. I am not rude. I went in and purchased some pasties for my travelling companions (declining one for myself as it takes great self-control to maintain my Adonis-like(*) physique). We were soon back at the car. The SatNav was programmed and we headed across country. Still enthused by our recent cruise, we decided to take the Bodinnick Ferry across the River Fowey. The entertainment wasn’t as good as on Arcadia and there didn’t appear to be a choice of restaurants, but as we were only aboard for about 5 minutes, we decided not to complain.

Back in the Hotel, Zoe had arranged for some balloons and cupcakes to be delivered to our room. Jane and Trevor joined us with some Prosecco and more cake and we had a little party to celebrate Diane’s birthday. Later, when we went down to dinner, our table was all decorated and again Prosecco was waiting for us with a card. This had all been arranged by Zoe (who was still chasing a package that should have been delivered - but will arrive tomorrow).

It was a lovely evening and Diane had a wonderful birthday.

(*) That isn’t the Greek God, Adonis. I reference, of course, to Arthur Adonis of 23 Railway Cuttings, Clapham.

Strolling

it was misty when we first woke up (there being an assumption that we had slept, buried in that sentence). Actually we both had a somewhat disturbed night. As is so often the case on the first night, it is a matter of getting used to the bed, the temperature, and the pillows. This does not usually indicate a good night’s sleep.

We met Jane and Trevor in the restaurant for a hearty breakfast. We discussed plans for the day. They were heading to the Lizard and on to Lands End. We have done this recently so decided to stick with our own plan which was to spend the day, on foot, in Falmouth. This would give us a chance to poke about in the shops and check on the local attractions.

Trevor and Jane dropped us off in the town as they headed to points west. Though it had looked likely to brighten up, there was a fine drizzle in the air as we marched towards the main drag. Our first stop was Trago Mills which has a 20% discount this week for pensioners - additionally today they had a £7 voucher for pensioners. We claimed our vouchers and rummaged round the store. There was plenty to see and some good deals to be found if you could find a way through the zombies blocking every aisle. I remained calm and nobody was injured as a result of my visit. Diane saw several items worth picking up, and resolved to return before we go home.

We wandered on through the town looking in shop windows and popping in to various stores. At the far end of town we made our way onto the quay just as the rain switched from benign drizzle to malignant downpour. We ducked into a cafe for a coffee until it eased. Coming back through town we stopped in a nice jewellers where we picked up (and paid for) a very nice broach that Diane could wear to keep her roll-neck sweater’s neckline under control.

We thought of grabbing a taxi back to the hotel but in the end decided to walk. It isn’t far but it does involve a hill and after the incident in Narvik I wanted to keep it as level as possible. We took it slowly and got back in about 10 minutes with only the briefest of stops. We had a quiet hour in the room as the mist rolled in across the bay then headed down to the terrace bar for small libation.

We met up with Jane and Trevor for a drink before dinner. We had decided to eat a bit earlier and as there only appeared to be 5 other tables that would be occupied, they had no difficulty in squeezing us in! We had another sumptuous meal and hear all about J&T’s tour down to the Lizard. After dinner, we retired to the lounge where we were able to watch the football (as frustrating as that was).

Falmouth

We set the alarm so that we could get going at a sensible time. The aim was to leave home before 09:00 and we managed to hit the road just after 08:30. We had a wonderful drive across the “Jurassic Route” past Bournemouth, Dorchester, Bridport and onwards to Exeter, where we stopped at the service station for a comfort break and some coffee.

We were soon back on the road for the last 100 miles. This was made more “interesting” by the foul weather that tormented us along the route. Low cloud, mist, and driving rain beset the car as we powered on through to Falmouth. We arrived at the hotel in just under 5 hours from home (excluding the comfort break). That is about as good as it gets given that no speed limits were broken along the whole 250 miles.

The hotel is gorgeous and we have a fabulous room with panoramic views across the bay. Jane and Trevor (who arrived a few minutes after us) are in the room below us, so have a similar view.

The first order of the afternoon, having dumped our luggage, was to get a drink and a bite to eat. We sat in the lounge and Diane enjoyed an Earl Gray tea and some coconut and chocolate cake, while I had a pint (or two) of Doom Bar and a beef sandwich. Trevor and Jane came to join us and we sat and chatted while they snacked.

Back in our room, we unpacked and then set out for a walk in the twilight. It was dry but breezy as we headed towards Gyllyngvase Beach. We even went down onto the beach. As we turned to head home, it started to rain. It wasn’t too bad and we weren’t too wet by the time we got back.

We changed for dinner. After all, you have to keep up appearances. We met up in the bar for a pre-dinner drink. It was very quiet with only one other couple in the lounge. Dinner was very good. I had some red mullet with a lentil dahl to start with. Diane skipped the starters. For our main dish, she had spatchcocked chicken and I had battered cod with some chips. We sat and chatted and it was gone 21:00 before we left the dining room. (We were, of course, the last out - but then there had been only one other table occupied).

The long day and long drive had caught up with me. My Kindle and the bed were calling

Just Stuff

The first order of the day (after coffee) was the cousins' call. It went much as usual - lots of banter and lots of laughter and as usual it brightened up the start to the weekend.

Next on the agenda was packing. With Jasper already at his Spa, we could have a leisurely run at the suitcases. I even consulted several YouTube videos to look at particular methods of folding clothes so they didn't crease.  After the packing, the label maker was retrieved from my study and the various cables needed for the trip were duly identified and labelled.

I genuinely like our Skoda. It is a lovely car with some great features. Its SatNav, however, is positively hostile if you wish to plot a route with several stop-overs (rather than a single destination, which is easy). This must have taken me 45 minutes. Eventually, our route was stored and we are set to go. This got me thinking about some of the online services that are available for the Skoda (and we haven't exploited). I logged into the portal and activated various services. This should simplify several things, including the SatNav routing. In turn, this got me thinking about the fact the car has a slot for a SIM card and can remain connected. Eventually, I decided to give it a whirl. I popped to Argos and got a SIM card which I have activated and installed. Time will tell if this makes an appreciable difference and is worth the effort.

Spa

 It was a bright and sunny day, a great change from the last few days. I wandered across to Zoe's (clutching Ellie's project in a bag) and we escorted her to class. The project was handed over and put on the table at the back of the class... one of only three that had been submitted.

I walked home and grabbed breakfast while Diane headed for the hairdresser. The morning was fairly quiet. I updated the accounts and started looking for materials and plans for a medieval castle - which will be Ellie's next major project. I didn't find anything that fitted my mental picture, but there are several months before we need to start on it, so I might devise a separate plan by then.

Today was meant to be the first day of Jasper's latest Spa treatment, assuming, that is, that we could catch him. We were lucky. Diane caughte him and I provided the carrier into which he was deposited. He yelled all the way from home to the Cattery but settled as soon as he arrived and saw Mark (the Cat Whisperer). Mark has just returned from a couple of weeks in LA. He commented that he probably won't return as it is infested with drug-takers and fentanyl addicts. It has become seedy and feels dangerous. Jasper is now in Mark's care for the next week (though we did forgert to take Jasper's swimming trunks - but Mark said he had a spare).

We collected Ellie from her post-school dancing class and she sat and did some reading with Nana before daddy came to collect her for the weekend. Today is Pete's birthday so we gave him his cards and present before he headed off with Ellie.

Project

The rain had started in the early morning. It was still thrashing down when I got up. Ellie was dropped off and it looked like we were in for a very wet walk to school... and it was!

We had a quiet breakfast and then headed to Sainsbury's for some shopping. Despite the recent traffic problems caused by the flooding, we had a very quick run and Sainsbury's was relatively quiet. We were in and out in about 30 minutes. Diane then had to deal with some issues over a misdelivered and mistranscribed prescription. This meant another trip to the pharmacy and a long chat with the surgery.

We collected Ellie from school and she settled down quickly to work on her project. We have been building a Tudor style house that might have ixisted at the time of the Great Fire. Today we finished the roof, installed the door and windows and all of the supporting beams. 

There is more we could do, but Ellie is only 6 and this is more than adequate.

Parents' Evening

 Ellie was dropped off first thing. For breakfast, she ordered fried eggs and promptly got fresh egg yolk down her white polo shirt. She did, however, finish the eggs. The weather was cool but sunny as we walked her to school and ushered her into the classroom.

It was a fairly quiet day. Diane had to drop some questionnaires off at the surgery and get one of her prescriptions changed. I buried myself in the computer, updating the accounts, and researching an affordable MacOS alternative to Visio. This latter item turned out to be a fruitless task. The problem I have is that I am so familiar with Visio that none of the other (affordable) products seemed to fit the bill. Also, there is a value-for-money aspect to the research. The product is only likely to get used occasionally so I am not willing to invest large sums. 

After lunch, we had our usual hour or so of reading. Because it was so bright and sunny, we were able to sit in the Orangery We then collected Ellie from school. She was grumpy because we wouldn't let her stop off at the Messy Church and play. (This is a monthly event in which she has never shown any interest in the past). She came home and sulked in her room for an hour.

Tonight was Parents' Evening at the school. Zoe and Pete had an appointment at 17:20. Unfortunately, Zoe was stuck behind a traffic snarl-up near Horsham. It was touch and go, so I said I would attend and she could join us if she got back in time. Pet and I went in to see Miss Yardley and were delighted to hear her appraisal of Ellie's progress in English and Maths and what a joy she was to have in class. Zoe managed to get back and join us after the first few minutes.

Another wet start

 It was pouring down when I got up this morning, and the forecast suggested we were in for more rain and some thunderstorms throughout the day. 

Ellie pottered into our room at about 7:15 - she had slept well and was raring to get going. We were lucky that by the time we had to leave for school, the rain had almost stopped.

Back home, breakfasted, and fully caffeinated I got on with some admin. The most pressing item was to sort out the "Age Extension" for our travel insurance to ensure that Dine remains covered after her imminent birthday. As usual, this was a much more difficult task than it should be. Pointers to the online process proved useless as the online process doesn't cover "Age Extensions". The only solution was to telephone. I then had to listen to message after message cajoling me to do whatever I needed online. I persisted. I spoke to a human and the whole process was done and dusted in a few minutes.

The rain had restarted. Diane wanted to post a card. I put on my waterproofs and carried the letter to the postbox. As I turned back the rain reached a furious frenzy. By the time I got home, despite my waterproof trousers and shoes, I was soaked.

Much of the rest of the day has been spent with my book, or preparing materials for Ellie's school project.

Wet Start

There was a great deal of rain overnight. It was still thrashing down when I got up, but it had stopped by the time I went to take Ellie to school. The day dried up, and whilst there were blustery winds, there was a lot of bright sunshine.

Diane had a morning on the phone with a girlfriend. I used the time to make a few more improvements to next year's accounting spreadsheet. 

After lunch, I finished my latest book and we sat in the Orangery and enjoyed the sunshine until it was time to collect Ellie from school. Once home she did some reading with Nana and then we worked on her Great Fire project.

Ellie is staying with us tonight. 

Peace

 It has been an immensely peaceful day. I was up at seven and had a quiet hour downstairs before Di emerged. We had both slept well.

During the morning Di finished some ironing and I sat in the traffic queue to get some cat food. I was lucky, I had looked at the map in advance, and I realised that approaching from the south would be quicker than the normal northern approach. This was a major saving. Cat food for Jasper, and fruit smoothies for Ellie were stacked in the shopping bag and I left, happy.

The afternoon has been spent with our books. I tried, in parallel, to prepare dinner. The pork and crackling was a triumph. The carrots and beans were excellent. The roast potatoes were not as good as those prepared last week (they will require some changes before I chance then again.

Unexpected

 We had an "unexpected granddaughter in the sleeping area". After a bit of a meltdown yesterday evening, it made sense for Ellie to sleep here overnight. She settled quickly and slept through until gone seven. During the morning she had been invited to a party so I drove her to Chichester and deposited her at the bowling alley where one of the mums would keep an eye on her until Kim came along to collect her after the party.

Back home, we awaited the arrival of Jan and John. They had a slow journey down from Odiham, commenting on how heavy (and slow) the traffic had been through the Downs. A cup of coffee and some biscuits made everything seem better as we caught up on family news and everyone's comings and goings.

Lunch was booked at The Oystercatcher and I must say that I'm glad that we were heading in that direction. Traffic coming towards us was almost at a standstill as it stretched back for miles from the flood alleviation pumps near Sainsbury's. We would use a different route on our return.

The Oystercatcher was busy, but the meal was very good. Diane had the lasagne, Jan had fishcakes, and John and I both had their pie of the day. In anticipation of our trip to Cornwall, I also enjoyed a pint of Doombar. Back home, after lunch, we enjoyed some tea and desserts - profiteroles and cheesecake. We got on to the subject of cruises and explained how much we had enjoyed it and how simple it was compared with a flight off to some distant location. Eventually, we had answered most of their questions and seeded the idea for their future holidays.

John and Jan left us late in the afternoon and we settled down for a quiet evening.

Wet Start

 It was a wet start to the day. The overnight rain was still pounding down as Ellie was dropped off. It did, however, die down, and by the time we took Ellie to school, the rain had stopped. Before heading off to school, Ellie had demanded that she should do some maths with Grandpa. Long may this continue. We talked about "number sentences" and their inverses. This meant that for any simple sum of "a plus b equals c", you could express it as "b plus a equals c", "c minus b equals a", and "c minus a equals b". This got me thinking. Could I introduce the idea of an "unknown" represented by "x". Well, yes, I could. She grasped it immediately and, in so doing, moved from arithmetic to algebra.

Having dropped Ellie at school, we headed home for some breakfast.  Diane then got on with some cleaning while I spent a little while on Ellie's project. I wanted to ensure the construction would work the way I had planned. The glue was a little slower to set than planned, but the idea looked sound.

Most of the afternoon was spent buried in our books, except the time I spent with the spot cleaner, sorting out some stains on the carpet so kindly left by Jasper in the last day or two.

Hotels and Models

 Ellie was dropped off soon after seven. Despite her friend Sofia having tonsillitis, Elle was hale and hearty and requested two cartons of fruit shakes and a bacon sandwich for breakfast. We walked her to school in bright sunshine and got caught by a downpour of rain as we returned home.

Thursday morning saw the usual delivery from Ocado. As we had nothing planned today, they turned up early. We then headed to Sainsbury's for the top-up. Sainsbury's seemed to be fairly empty, but the corpses that were there seemed to be devoid of ideas regarding their shopping, and oblivious to the chaos they were causing around them. Somehow, I remained (relatively) calm and resisted the increasing temptation to blast my way through these zombies scattering them to the winds with my trolley. Maybe next week I should take a Katana!

The rest of the morning was spent painting the parts of the model that Ellie will build to illustrate a Tudor house from the time of the Great Fire of London. When, by mid-afternoon, we had collected Ellie from school we started the construction phase. We can now see how it will come together. Ellie, however, ran out of time and will have to do more tomorrow.

I received a phone call from the hotel in which we will celebrate Diane's landmark birthday. We confirmed our room allocation and our preferred times for breakfast and dinner. I must confess that we are both looking forward to this short break.

DNA

 We had very heavy rain overnight. Ellie was dropped off soon after seven and still, the rain was thrashing down. It looked like the walk to school would be rather wet, but first, she needed breakfast. I always ask what she would like and usually, she requests raspberries, melon, cereal, or a ham sandwich. Occasionally she throws a curved ball and I have to make her some eggs. Today was a first, she asked for a bacon sandwich. My heart swelled with pride as she tucked in and completely demolished this gastro breakfast. With proper sustenance on board, she was in a fit state to venture out into the rain with us and make her way to school.

Diane had some blood tests to sort out during the morning. I returned to the computer and started to investigate some of the recent DNA hits that had shown up. At first, progress was slow but I finally made a breakthrough and have managed to document a few of Diane's 2nd and 3rd cousins who were previously unknown.

The afternoon was spent with our books. Being Wednesday, we did not have to collect Ellie from school as she goes to gymnastics in Chichester with a friend.

Ribbit

 It was quite cool but lovely and bright. It was an excellent start to the day as I walked to Zoe's to escort Ellie to school. She was quite excited as she had a stand-in teacher for the remainder of the week. We waited for the class door to open and saw the locum. He looked about 12 years old and was a tall and skinny beanpole of a chap. He had an open and smiley face and the kids seemed delighted to file into the classroom.

We were scheduled to meet with Jane and Trevor for lunch. While Diane pottered and got ready, I spent some of the morning marking up and cutting out the cardboard pieces for the model Ellie has to make for her latest project.

We headed up to Chiddingfold. There was no appreciable traffic and we pulled into the car park alongside Jane and Trevor's car. We met at The Mulberry Inn and were ushered to our table, where we enjoyed a coffee before examining the menu and ordering our lunch. I had a flatbread with pulled pork as a starter. This may have been a mistake. Whilst it was delicious, it was also the size of a very decent pizza... and that was just the starter. For the entrees, both Diane and I selected the rack of ribs. These came slathered in a rich sauce. I do wish they would serve this on the side, instead of on the ribs. The ribs were, despite the sauce, absolutely delicious. 

The meal was just the backdrop to several hours of chat. There was so much to catch up on after all. We hadn't seen each other for a month and wouldn't see each other again for another 10 days! We caught up on the family news and recent get-togethers, on health, on ideas for our forthcoming trip, on future cruise options, and generally on the wonderful trivia of retirement. Eventually, it was time to part ways and head home. The traffic was bit busier but it was stilla good run home.

It had been a lovely few hours.

Models

 There was a gentle start to the day. The sun was strolling lazily towards the horizon, ready to climb into the November sky. The coffee was on, and Jasper was still asleep somewhere upstairs. At the allotted time, I walked to Zoe's and we escorted Ellie to school.

My main distraction today has been the fact that Ellie has to create a model that represents a building from the Great Fire of London. I looked at various models on some websites. I also looked at a couple of YouTube videos. There was nothing that leapt out at me. I started to develop my own ideas of how we might create a model that Ellie could make. Slowly, a design emerged, and after a trip to Hobbycraft, I had a few bits and pieces that would help. After collecting Ellie from school (and completing last night's jigsaw with her) she started on some crafts and I drew some templates for the walls of our Tudor building.

The other main event for the day was a trip to Bognor War Memorial Hospital for Diane's chest X-ray. We were in and out in about 5 minutes, but it is done and we must now await the analysis.

Celebrating

With Diane's landmark birthday approaching and the fact that we will be away for the big day we had arranged for the family to come to us for lunch today. 

I was up early so that I could sear the meat and get into the oven to roast "low and slow" for 5 hours then rest in time for lunch. Several metric tonnes of potatoes were peeled and parboiled in turmeric before being coated in flour and semolina and roasted in ghee. (This was based on a recipe from Nadiya Hussein). All of the other vege was prepared and we were ready to rock.

Kim and Jon arrived first and we had a quiet half-hour with them before Zoe, Darren and Ellie arrived. We chatted and had the odd drink and some nibbles until lunch was ready. We then settled down for the feast. I was delighted with the way it had all turned out. We had a leisurely lunch followed by a chatty afternoon, though Kim, Ellie and I spent much of it working on a jigsaw.

As it got dark and the fireworks started, Kim and Jon had to head home to look after the dogs (who aren't impressed by the bangs). Zoe, Darren and Ellie left soon after and we had a quiet evening in front of the TV.

Journals and books

 Ellie slept well. It was 7 a.m. before she stirred and, after firing up her iPad, we had another 30 minutes of peace and quiet. By that time, I was washed, dressed, and downstairs making coffee. We gave Ellie some breakfast and soon after, Zoe arrived to collect her.

Diane had a quiet day with her sewing patterns.

I spent the morning and early afternoon working on the journal for the 1980s. I had yet to realise just how sparse the raw data was. One year, I only had a single diary entry. As Diane said, we were busy with the girls and our jobs. What I do have, fortunately, is a vast library of photographs from which the years can be re-created... even if the exact days are not quite accurate.

This afternoon, I finished my latest book (75th book of the year) and started on another. The book that I finished had left me on a metaphorical cliff's edge. I must download and read the next in the series.

AirBnB

 Ellie decided that she would stay with us tonight. This was not the plan, but she woke up and asked Zoe if she would collect her in the morning as she would sleep and Nana and Grandpa's tonight. Once we had received our notification we set ourselves for tonight's very welcome visitor.

The morning was fairly quiet. Diane spent the time in her sewing room. She was still working on the pattern that she had developed.

I spent the time in my Study. I had dug out our Wedding Album, having realised that I had never scanned the"official" images. It took a while, but I am very pleased that I now have digital copies of the images taken that day. I also found a copy of the speech I delivered during the reception. It seemed like a perfect time to digitise that too. Slowly the pages of hand-written verses were committed to the computer and will be incorporated in the 1970s' journal.

The afternoon was dedicated to our books until it was time to collect Ellie from the dancing class (held immediately after school). Once back here, she started on homework while I prepared supper.

Damp Squibb

Well, so far, the weather warnings have been pointless. We had a word with the local council and said that we didn't want the forecast high winds nor the torrential rain That is not the weather we are willing to tolerate in West Sussex. The weather was adjusted accordingly, and whilst we had a bit of rain and a stiff breeze, we had benign weather. That's not to say that other parts of the country were spared, but maybe their local councils are less efficient than ours.

I provided my usual school escort service and then headed home to have breakfast and await the Ocado delivery. With the shopping stashed away, we headed for Sainsbury's. We are expecting the whole family on Sunday so we ended up with a very full trolley.

Once the accounts were filed away, we spent the rest of the day with our books.

For dinner, I cooked the first stew of the season. This was very successful, and I will have to do this concoction again.

The Calm

The calm before the storm hasn't been too calm. We have had bright sunshine interspersed with torrential rain showers and blustery winds. Fortunately, it had just stopped raining when I went to walk Ellie to school. 

Diane, meanwhile, had been to the doctor's and was stuck in heavy traffic coming home. It was a fairly quick turnaround as we had to get to the hospital for her second calibration check on her blood monitor. The check went well, but the monitor and the veinous sample differed by a small amount this time. The nurse was satisfied, and the final check (to be done next week) doesn't require a trip to the hospital. We can email the results.

As we got in the car, the heavens opened, and we had a torrential downpour. We had timed it perfectly. We were soon home and had a quiet remainder of the day with a bit of reading, some tidying, and collecting Ellie from school.

Battening Down

It was predominantly dry today. This made a change after the recent rain and the floods that have hit some parts of the area.

I went to collect Ellie and take her to school. Zoe is still unwell and has no voice, so she stayed behind while I did the school drop-off.

Back home, after some breakfast and another armful of caffeine, I decided that we needed to batten down the garden. Storm Ciaran is forecast to hit and cause havoc for a couple of days. With winds forecast to reach 90 mph, it seemed like a good idea to clear the garden furniture. As we no longer have a car in the garage, all of the chairs could be squirrelled away safely.  With the garden clear, the next task was to clean up some stains on the landing carpet, which had been so carefully deposited by Jasper just after we got into bed the other night.

Finally, I was able to return to my journals. My first pass of the 1970s is complete. I will return to it at a later date as I have found some additional text and photos are worthy of inclusion. I then made a start on the 1980s. Again this is sparse, but does include some long entries transcribed from my letters during business trips and notes written when on holiday with the family.

After lunch, we both spent some time with our books before going to meet Ellie from school and take her home.

We have put up a sign on the door "Sorry, No Trick or Treats, please". Children were literally brought onto the estate by the carload in previous years and it was getting a bit silly. They have ruined it for the local kids. What we have done is tell a few families to ignore the sign and knock, as they are welcome.