Not much

 I was up early so Ellie could be dropped off soon after 7:00. The weather was dry and grey, but some rain was forecast. By the time we had all finished breakfast, the rain had started and was destined to last until mid-afternoon.

The morning followed a well-known pattern - Ocado delivered some shopping, and then we pottered off to Sainsbury's for a top-up. Ellie stayed with Diane and somehow ended up with a pile of new clothes. The rest of the morning was quiet (other than Ellie's incessant requests to try on the new clothes).

After lunch, we dropped Elie at a friend, Florence's house. She would remain there until Zoe got back from work. We went back to the shops. Diane had some clothes to drop off at the Charity Shop and I had an order to collect from M&S. The rest of the afternoon was spent quietly with our books.

Then there were two

Today we were joined by Ellie's friend Maddie. She was dropped off at 7:30, just before Ellie. This could have been chaotic, but no, they played well together throughout the morning. It was funny watching them, sitting side-by-side on camping chairs, playing games on their iPads. This didn't last for long (as we have a time-lock on Ellie's iPad)... so they migrated onto the floor and played with various Barbie dolls and their paraphernalia.

After lunch, I took them to a couple of the play parks and let them run off some energy on the apparatus and swings. Darren collected the girls from our house early in the afternoon. Ellie had an appointment with a hairdresser (at home) and Maddie was tagging along until Mum escaped from her shift at the hospital.

We managed a quiet afternoon in the Orangery. 

Cable tie

 Diane was due at the Cardiac Rehab session and we were expecting Ellie. The morning demanded a fast start. Ellie followed Diane around like her shadow until it was time for Rehab, then Ellie settled down with me for some breakfast followed by some colouring. Once the colouring had exhausted her interest she retrieved the "Numicon" set from the Orangery and we spent 45 minutes playing with number blocks.

Diane arrived home. She has been promoted to the blue group and seems to be doing well. She is clearly enjoying it as she asked what was available when the formal 8-week programme was complete.

I had received a package from Amazon. The item didn't fit so I instigated the returns process. One option was to take it to a drop-off point where, they explained, you scan a QR card, a label is printed, and you hand the label and item over to the staff who package it and send it off. Sounded great. I walked around to the drop-off point (Tesco Express) and hunted for the scanner and label printer. In the end, a member of staff showed me the device hiding behind a cage full of produce. I printed the label and handed her the package... commenting on what a good service it was given that they packed the item. Oh no they don't. In the end, she took pity on me and taped up the bag containing the item, added the label, and gave me a receipt. An hour or so later an email arrived. The item had been collected and the refund was in my account.

After lunch, Ellie wanted us to erect her teepee. This is an immensely frustrating exercise requiring a squad of people, each with four arms and eight hands. Poles slip and slide, and tie points are hard to thread. Once threaded they are even more difficult to tighten and secure. Finally, a stabilising mechanism has to be threaded through the nexus of poles at the top. This must be tightened for above and below. You will not be surprised to hear that I finished the edifice off with a cable tie to secure the top.

Kondo? Really?

I slipped quietly downstairs soon after 7:00. I opened the blinds without disturbing Jasper or Diane. The Nespresso machine burst into life. Soon, my caffeine stream would be replenished. 

Several domestic chores needed attention. The most pressing of these was to wash the floors, so I dug out the steamer and set to work. It didn't take too long, and as I finished, Zoe and Ellie dropped in after their morning shopping trip.

The next chore was to "Kondo" my wardrobe. This was crammed full. Many of the shirts hadn't been worn since I retired. Many of the sweatshirts had been used (and ruined) by Jasper in his wish to nest on the wardrobe shelves. Some trousers were too big, and many trousers were too small. The trousers that were too small were vacuumed into a plastic bag for storage. Everything else considered superfluous was piled in the corner until we had an edifice the size of Ben Nevis. This pile was eventually dismantled and stowed in the boot of my car, ready for a trip to the tip.

It was late afternoon before this was finished. Maria Kondo would have been proud of the results.

DNA

It's a lovely day down here on the Sussex coast. As we were reading the daily news, an email popped into Diane's inbox. It was from "Ancestry" reporting a new DNA match. This always creates a frisson of excitement. Is this a person we already know? Is this a person opening up a new branch of research? I logged on and started to dig into the DNA database. The match was previously unknown to us. Her family name is not one that we know from our research... but she shows up as a 2nd or 3rd cousin. Disappointment set in. She had no tree that I could examine. In the end, the only possible course of action was to write to her. I eagerly await her response, but experience has taught me that if there is a response at all, it could be many months before it arrives.

Having been delving into "Ancestry", I did look through some of my own matches and managed to find several 3rd cousins of my own. They were related to my Great-great-grandfather's second marriage (he remarried after his first wife, Caroline, died).

As the day wore on, I received a call from Jane. The news was not good. Dear Aunt Margaret (wife of my Dad's twin brother, Peter) died, peacefully, yesterday evening. She had been discovered by cousin Nick when he went to her flat to see what she wanted for dinner. She had died, peacefully, in her chair. This must be an immensely trying time for my cousins. I managed to talk with Zoe and inform her of the news, and early this evening I also spoke with Kim so that she knew. It's a sad day. 

Discount

 The day started. This was just as well because I was awake. A coffee lubricated the mind and joints and by 9 a.m. I was ready for the cousins' call. The call had no particular theme today but was 40 minutes of general chat and banter. The only time it became contentious was when Tim admitted he didn't really like Stephen Fry and I had to admit that I agreed with him. Given that Helen (like Stephen Fry) is a denizen of Norfolk, this almost caused an attack of the vapours.

After the call, Diane went shopping with Zoe. She was able to use her staff discount for the first time this month. This, apparently, saves over £70 on today's shopping. I left them to it. The thought of wandering aimlessly around various local stores did not fill me with enthusiasm. 

I spent the time completing the last of the "pre-boarding" tasks for our imminent cruise.  Then I hit the photos. There were a couple of months of photos that needed identifying and filing. With my helper code, the filing of these photos took a few seconds. The confirmation of all of the facial recognition took a bit longer.

Service

We were up early. Ellie was dropped off soon after 7. Clearly, she had only just woken up and wanted to snuggle back down and grunt for a while. Eventually, she emerged and discernable words emitted from her mouth. 

After breakfast, I had to take my Fiesta to the local garage for its annual service and MOT. As it was a bright and clear morning, I decided that I didn't need a lift back. It would be a pleasant walk. It takes about 30 minutes to walk back but it was good exercise.

The rest of the morning was spent doing bits of admin and responding to questions from Ellie (who was stuck to Nana, like glue). After we had some lunch I took her out to the park, to see the ducks, and then on to another park. Unfortunately, there seemed to be nobody else around so she didn't get a chance to play with any friends.

It was a relatively quiet afternoon. Ellie was playing and watching TV. We pottered. Eventually, I had to return and collect the car. It got a clean bill of health (as expected) and the MOT certificate revealed that I had driven less than 300 miles since the last test in September 2022.

Pete came along to collect Ellie after her dinner and she has gone back with him for the weekend.

Tooth Fairy

Ellie slept well overnight. Apparently, she fell out of bed at one point but got back under the sheets and went back to sleep. It didn't disturb us, so we were none the wiser. It was 7:00 before she came in to see us. A very acceptable time.

DI had her regular blood tests at the surgery while Ellie and I waited for Ocado to deliver. Once all the shopping was stowed away we did some colouring until it was time for us all to head for Chichester. I had an appointment with the tooth fairy dental hygienist, and Di had some questions for the dentist regarding her medication and any special considerations it may involve before dental treatment. From there she took Ellie into town to get new school shoes and a few hair accessories. I caught up with them when the hygienist had finished mining in my mouth.

Walking back through town there was a shout of "Ellie!" and one of her friends, Eboni, ran up for a cuddle. We got chatting with her mum and all ended up having lunch in "Crispin's".

It's been a grey and wet afternoon. Ellie was happy to sit and watch a Disney movie (Encanto).  Diane had a query to resolve with the cardiac team regarding her latest INR results, and I dealt with an email from P&O... I had some final information to give them and could then print the boarding passes and luggage tags for a forthcoming trip. Other than uploading a couple of passport-like photos, and confirming times for the taxi, all is now complete.

Just stuff

 Diane had an appointment at the hospital, first thing. We were clearly the first on the list, so Diane was seen immediately and we were in and out in about 10 minutes.

Zoe dropped Ellie off mid-morning. She will be working a late shift in Hove today so Ellie will stay with us overnight. She was very good through the morning and she took Grandpa out for a walk to try and find various items that were on an I-spy list. While out we bumped into her friend Sophia so I left them to play for a while.

This afternoon, Ellie helped Diane in the garden with some weeding, dead-heading, and watering. This evening I made a curry for her dinner and then she insisted on going onto the lawn outside the front of the house so that she could run around, do handstands, try and do cartwheels, and do the splits. It was exhausting just watching her.

She's in the bath now and winding down for bed.

Tariff

 There was no hurry this morning. Though Diane had the Cardiac Rehab session, there was nothing on my agenda. After a leisurely breakfast, and waving goodbye to Diane, I worked my way through the post-holiday ironing. Once that was clear, I started on the list for this week's Ocado delivery.

Once Diane was back,  I headed for the study. There was admin to complete... first, the Ocado shopping list had to be completed, then our details for the Dartford River Crossing needed updating after they changed supplier, and then I had to look at our current energy tariff to see if there was a better deal. The energy tariff was changed (saving a couple of hundred pounds), The DART Charge was reset to a new debit card, and finally, I managed to complete the accounts.

We had a quiet afternoon with our books, though Mrs Tiggywinkle did phone for a chat with Diane.

Reminders starting to arrive from P&O regarding the upcoming cruise... bizarrely, we hadn't forgotten (given how many years this saga has been running).

Limo

I was up at 7:00. Ellie was being dropped off and I wanted to be ready for the tsunami that would, no doubt, accompany her. To be fair, she was pretty restrained and settled down for breakfast without any disruption.

Mid-morning we had to head towards Highleigh Pound (about 8 miles from home). Jasper needed collection from his Spa and I was driving his Limo. He had clearly had a good time with Mark (the Cat Whisperer) but it was time to return home and torment us. He was deposited in his carrying basket and then whined and moaned the whole way home. Ellie, sitting next to him, tried to calm him but he was having none of it. Back home, Jasper leapt from his basket and did several full tours of the house before settling done, content that we had changed nothing in his absence.

Early afternoon we had to take Ellie to the optician. She had managed to get glitter in her eye on Friday and was treated at the time, This was a follow-up appointment to take the opportunity to test her vision. The glitter seems long gone, but today's tests show a slight long-sightedness in her right eye. This is not related to the accident with the glitter. It does need to be monitored and, if wanted, they could prescribe some glasses that would help. Personally, I don't think she should embark on that route as yet. She is not exhibiting any symptoms related to difficulties with her sight. I think she should hang fire and see if the problem rectifies naturally as she grows.

Home again, naturally

It was time to pack up, hit the highways and byways, and make our way home. We had a leisurely breakfast before I started on numerous trips up and down to the car. There was no hurry but we managed to get on the road by 10:00. We had a good run home. The only delays were from the bottom of the A34, along the M3 and down to the M27. We were home in about 2 hours 40 minutes.

Before checking out, I had asked the hotel whether they have a charging station for EVs. They don’t. The land owner won’t allow it. What’s more, there are very few chargers in the whole area… the nearest being at the motorway service station on the M5.

Once home, we unpacked then settled down for an hour or so with our books. Then we wandered around the corner to Zoe’s, where we had been invited for a BBQ. We stayed for a couple of hours, then left them to it.

It’s nice to get away - but it’s lovely to be home.

A Golden Day

The forecast overnight deluge must have swept through but we slept through, undisturbed. When I got up, the sun was shining and it looked like the start of a nice day. We opened a pile of Anniversary cards (though we had deliberately left presents at home). It seems unbelievable that it is 50 years since Diane was daft enough to say “I do”

After breakfast we gathered our stuff together and headed out into the wilds of the Midlands. We had selected a couple of National Trust properties that looked worth a visit. Zipping up towards Solihull (security escort and outriders at hand) we pulled into Baddesley Clinton. This is another charming moated Manor House dating back centuries and boasting various additions and improvements over the years. It was home of the Ferrer family who could trace their family back to the Norman conquest. One of the Ferrers was interested in genealogy and rather than draw a family tree, he had stained glass windows made to recount the family’s history. It was a wonderful place complete with a priest’s hide. This was used during one raid and 9 Catholics shinned down a rope into the sewers and remained there safely until the searchers had given up and left. We left the house and wandered into the gardens where we got chatting to one of the volunteers (and her husband). From there we walked along to St Michael’s Church where most of the Ferrer family are buried (12 generations under the chancel itself).

Exhausting what there was to see we drove 2 miles down the road to Packwood House. This was another NT property. We were too late to claim a ticket for a tour of the house, but we had a chance to wander through the gardens. The walled garden was awash with colour and decorative grasses swayed in the breeze. Behind the walled garden, however, was the Yew garden. This had over 100 yew trees that had been shaped, trimmed and trained. It was quite incredible. I don’t think I have ever seen such a display before.

Unable to tour the house we hopped in the car and headed back to the hotel (with a brief stop for petrol on the way). When we arrived back, the hotel had decorated our room with balloons, left us an Anniversary card, and bottle of Prosecco. What a nice gesture! We sat out on our balcony in the sun, sipping Prosecco and reading our books before getting reading for dinner.

Malvern, Morgan, and Worcester

There was early morning rain but it ws due to clear. The hotel seemed a lot busier when we went down to breakfast. This was probably because all of the golfers who usually out on the course had decided on breakfast and a late start to avoid the rain. We were in no hurry so it made no difference to us.

Mid morning we headed towards Malvern. We had booked a tour of the Morgan Motors factory. Whilst I think their cars look lovely in a retro kind of way, they are not cars I would ever really have entertained for us. They are, however, hand built and we were intrigued to see the process.

We gathered in the coffee shop and were handed headsets so that we could hear the guide (Mike) over the sound of the tools. The tour started with an introductory video and we were then taken across to the factory site (about 100 yards away). Mike showed the aluminium shells stacked up, waiting to be turned into the final car - a process that took about two weeks in all. We were then taken to the top of the site and worked our way down through each of the sheds, following the progress that the cars would make. We saw the engines (supplied by BMW) stripped of the electronics and fitted with Morgan’s own electronics, we saw the suspension being built, we saw the frames on “the spit” where they could be rotated over 360 degrees so that they could be worked on in comfort. We then moved on to the next shed where the panels were shaped and fitted to the frames. 

Here they also pressed the air vents into the bonnets using huge presses that were controlled purely by eye. The next shed showed the fitting of ash frames to the shell and the area where the master cabinet maker (and his apprentice) formed shaped and veneered the dashboards. Across the other side of the yard was the upholstery shop where all of the leather work was done. Hides were stitched and turned into the seats (with bespoke patterns and stitching, if required), the tonneau covers were made and fitted to their frames, and the car assembly was finished before being taken back across the yard to the pre-delivery inspection area. 

The tour finished in their Archive/Museum. Whether you are a Morgan aficionado or not, this is a tour well worth a couple of hours of your time. It is great to see traditional craftsmanship and such pride in their work.

And no… we didn’t buy one

From Malvern, we headed up to Worcester. We didn’t have a particular objective but we both like the City and thought it would be nice to have a wander about. We parked down by The Old Rectifying House (a once great restaurant, flooded once too often and now turned into a Turkish restaurant) and then wandered up into town. 

It’s 15 years since Worcester was my home from home during the week and it has clearly changed a great deal. There appears to be a rule in the City that every 3rd shop has to be a barbershop or hairdresser. Intervening shops can be vape shops or tattoo parlours. Having said that the town centre seemed to be very busy as we wandered around. It was good see that The Cardinal’s Hat (Spur 0, as we knew it) has reopened, and the Chinese Chung Ying Garden is still there. Many of the other restaurants that we frequented seem to have fallen by the wayside. We strolled back down to the river and walked along the riverbank for a little way then sat and watched the swans as they paraded back and forth.

Late afternoon we returned to the hotel and had a quiet evening with some fish and chips in the bar. Who says we don’t push the boat out!

Tyntesfield

It was a warm and bright day, without being sunny. We met up with Rebecca for breakfast and, as we finished were joined by Tim and Beth, and Simon and Clare and the kids. Becky had to check-out and was heading down for a camping weekend in Dorset.

We had originally thought of visiting Berkeley Castle but it turns out that it is closed on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for private functions. The second position on the visit-list was Tyntesfield House. This had intrigued me since it was sold to. The National Trust in 2002. I remember seeing coverage on the News, at the time. It would appear that among those seeking to purchase the property were Kylie Minogue and Madonna. Fortunately, the NT won through.

Tyntesfield is a few miles south of Bristol, about an hour away from our hotel. It was a pretty easy journey, being Thursday, but I would not have liked to do it on Friday or Saturday when the holiday traffic fills the M5. After fighting with the parking machine I managed to get a ticket for the windscreen and we made our way onto the property. We passed the Home Farm and walked up through the woods and approached the house from the back lawns. The driveway was lined with shaped holly bushes and manicure lawn stretched in all directions. On our left the ground rose and the lawn disappeared through an enchanting woodland filled with copper beech, horse chestnut, cedar, birch and, of course oak.

We made our way to the front of the house and entered. It was high gothic revival in style and still contained about 70,000 original artefacts from when the Gibb family were in residence. Like most NT buildings, in an attempt to protect the contents from light damage, all of the blinds and shutters were drawn. This meant that visitors wandered round in semi darkness. Having completed the circuit downstairs, we climbed the main staircase and had a peek at the one or two rooms that were open on the first floor before going through to the chapel. This is reputedly, the second largest private chapel in England. (When asked where the largest was, they could answer… but I suspect it might be at Arundel Castle).

From the house we wandered down to the Orangery and walled garden. We were able to grab a pasty and a cup of tea before wandering back up to the house and then back to the car. It was a good run back to the hotel and we spent the remains of the afternoon on the patio with a drink. Beset by wasps, we finally gave in and went inside. For dinner, we stayed in the bar and had a bar meal.

I had been in touch with Stuart from Worcester in the hope we might meet up during our sojourn in the area. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get a slot that suited both diaries. Maybe next time.

Nuptials

No not ours. One of reasons we are here in Tewkesbury is that Jon and Caroline had decided to get married.Today was the big event. We weren’t required until mid-afternoon so we spent a quiet day at the hotel, sitting on our balcony - or when it got too hot, sheltering in our lounge.

Rebecca arrived mid-morning. She couldn’t check-in until the afternoon, so she came to our room to chat and get changed. She was in the party that attended the actual wedding service, so her taxi came to collect her at 11:30.

We followed on at 15:30 and pulled into the car park just behind Denise and Dom. The venue was the most enchanting location you could imagine. Birtsmorton Court is a medieval moated manor with the earliest parts dating back to the 13th Century. On a sunny day such as today it was like an imaginary castle from a film.

The wedding breakfast (why do they call it that, when it was clearly lunch?) was just dispersing as we arrived and we were directed to the lawns where we could mingle while being entertained by a couple of member of Alan’s band. Diane and I took the opportunity to wander round the outside of the manor and have a good look from every aspect. Returning to the lawns we chatted with Denise and Dom, Rebecca, Craig and Caroline, and various other guests. A drone was used to take group photos (or were they videos?). I will be interested to see how they turn out.

We were directed back to the outbuildings and lawns where they had had the Wedding Breakfast. The rest of the evening was spent there. An ice cream cart was providing cooling cornets, A pizza truck arrived and fired up the oven. Throughout the rest of the evening pizzas were provided on demand (the only problem with this was that it was the sole choice - and Diane doesn’t eat pizza… and hadn’t eaten since breakfast (fortunately we had some shortbread in the hotel room).

The whole event was superb. Alan’s band took to the stage at about 21:00. It was a bit loud inside so we remained out on the lawn. They did sound very good and there loads of people up and dancing. Having checked that Rebecca had a lift back to hotel, we said our goodbyes and headed back here to Puckrup Hall.

What an excellent day.

Short Break

We thought we had tricked him. We got up at the usual time. Had breakfast in the usual manner and went about a few hours of normal chores. There were no piles of clothes. No suitcases had been retrieved. There was no hint that we were planning a short break and that Jasper would be staying at the Cattery.

That’s what we thought.

Jasper knew. Jasper had hidden behind the drawers in my study. Jasper was not coming out without a struggle. The struggle was short but resulted in Jasper emptying the contents of his bladder all over my study carpet. Sorting this out was not one of my planned items for the morning but suddenly leapt to the top of the list. Jasper was soon deposited with Mark, the cat whisperer, and we headed home to pack. Jasper can enjoy his own spa break for a few days.

We set off across country. It was a journeyI used to do weekly and took in some lovely countryside as we swept out of Sussex, through Hampshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and into Worcestershire. We pulled in to car park at Puckrup Hall and decanted our luggage from the car. We were soon checked in and shown to our suite. We have a large living room, a dinning room, a bedroom, a bathroom and a second washroom. We also have a lovely balcony looking out over the golf course and across the countryside.

After the long drive we decided to eat in the hotel tonight.

Rude Awakening

We had a rude awakening. It was 5 minutes past 4. It was still very dark outside. Jasper had just helped himself to some of the supper we had left out for him.  He had bolted it down too quickly and, having galloped upstairs, he promptly vomited the lost over our bedroom carpet - in various deposits around the room. That was it. We were awake. The light went on and we both set about the process of cleaning it up and spraying it with a cleaner that enable us to do a deep clean come the morning. Diane managed to go back to sleep. I didn't.

Eventually, it was time to get up for coffee and start on the overnight news and emails. I then set about the pile of ironing before heading for the study to catch up on the accounts and attack the carpet with the spot cleaner. To be fair, it did a good job and the carpet looks fine again now. The rest of the morning was filled with other chores.

This afternoon was spent with our books.

Oh dear!

 In a fit of unparalleled laziness, it was nearly 8 o'clock before I saw the light of day. I snuck downstairs in an attempt to leave Di to sleep in peace. It was a relatively quiet morning. I was looking at various "...by Candlelight" shows and trying to find something that would suit us in terms of subject and location. There were a few but none that screamed at me.

Talking with Trevor and Jane, yesterday they asked whether we had considered river cruises. The answer is that we had, but had never done anything about it. After several hours of research and further discussion with Trevor, I might have accidentally booked a river cruise along the Danube next Spring. Jasper is booked into the Cattery, VIP transport is booked to and from the Airport, and flights are booked, so we are off to Vienna to pick up the boat.

Rumours

Well, that was an evening to remember. 

The day started much as usual. I had the cousins' call and then we got on with our normal pottering about. By mid-afternoon, it was time to head out. We set off for Woking and were surprised that the traffic was so light. We pulled into the shopping centre car park a couple of minutes before Jane and Trevor. Having met up, we went for a stroll to kill some time before the restaurant opened.

We had a pre-theatre dinner booked. We were first to arrive but over the next 30 minutes the restaurant filled up and people were being turned away. I started with some calamari followed by Pollo Milanese while Di had the Sea Bass. The staff were delightful and very attentive and the food was delicious. With dinner finished, we made our way to the theatre.

We had tickets for "Fleetwood Mac by Candlelight". This was a production featuring West End singers and a live band. We had excellent seats in Row C of the stalls, right in the middle. The view was perfect.

We had about 2 hours or so of excellent Fleetwood Mac classics starting with "The Chain" and carrying on through tracks such as "Rhiabnnon", "Don't Stop", "Gypsy", "Black Magic Woman", "Sarah", and many more.

It was a wonderful show and I'm glad that we made the effort to go up to Woking for it.

We got home at about 23:30, so it wasn't too bad.

Very quiet

It was a little grey but lovely and warm when we got up. Diane had an outing with Kathie planned. I had volunteered to take her across to Worthing to meet with Kathie and Kathie would take it from there. They were off to see the Sussex Prairie Garden near Henfield. I left them to it and drove home for a tranquil afternoon with my book. 

I went back to collect Diane early in the evening and that's about all there is to report.

Celebrate

We had to get going this morning. Diane was due at the surgery for her blood tests before 9:00. With that done we then had the usual Thursday morning shopping extravaganza with Ocado delivering and Sainsbury's filling in the things Ocado couldn't supply.

By midday, it was time to ship out. We were collecting Kim from Zoe's and all of us we heading out to lunch to celebrate Zoe's birthday. Ellie had her friend Sophia with her. Our destination was The Black Horse at Binsted. Diane has been there before and it is clearly a regular haunt for Darren and his family. It is a charming gastro-pub, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, and overlooking a golf course. We settled in their garden room and waited for Barbara (Darren's mum) to join us.

The menu was impressive and I had no hope of remembering everything that was selected. I started, however, with a bucket of King Prawns. These were served with lovely granary bread and spiced mayonnaise. That set the scene nicely. For the main dish, Diane had sea bass and I had a Wagyu beef burger. Both turned out to be delicious. Finally, we had dessert. Diane selected the lemon posset and I had chocolate brownie cheesecake with ice cream.

The meal was superb and Ellie and Sophia were very well-behaved, but I'm sure the fact that they could roam off into the garden helped.

It was a lovely celebration but eventually, we had to head home. We dropped Kim and Barbs off at Zoe's, then wandered off home.

Cobblers

There was no hurry to get up this morning. I had cried off the football to give my knee some time to recover. All that was on the agenda was to enter the Ocado shopping list and to pop out to fill the car with petrol.

I had been expecting the delivery of some new shoes. The casual slip-ons that I had been wearing were showing serious signs of wear and the inner soles were falling apart. So much for the incredibly comfortable Sketchers. They may be comfortable, but they don't last. The new shoes, from Pavers, arrived just after breakfast. They looked very nice and I was pleased with the choice. Well, that is I was pleased until I tried them on and found that they were much too big. The problem is that the next size down is likely to be too small. The shoes were packaged up and returned.

Diane got stuck into some ironing for the first time since before her surgery. I had offered to do it, but she insisted that she should give it a try. I burrowed into the internet looking for some alternative shoes. Clarks, Hotter, Ecco, and M&S were all tried, but in the end, I selected a pair from Amazon. Let's see how well they fit when they arrive tomorrow.

Ellie and Zoe have had a day out with Kim today. They went to Worthing and clearly had a wonderful girly day at the Petite Fairytale Boutique.

It was obviously a very pink day of beauty treatments.

I can't think why I wasn't invited!

iMac

Diane had to go to her cardiac rehab class first thing this morning. I stayed put and enjoyed a second coffee and read the news online. Recently Jasper has shared the contents of his stomach with us, several times. We cleaned up and sprayed the carpet in the appropriate places at the time. I took the spot/vacuum cleaner upstairs and attacked the various stains. It took a while, but the carpets are clean again now.

At lunchtime, I was expecting delivery of a refurbished iMac that Zoe/Darren had requested. It turned up soon after 12:30 and when Diane and I had finished lunch we went to Zoe's and I set the system up. I have made a small contribution towards the cost as part of her birthday present. Considering it was a refurbished machine, I was impressed with its quality. Needless to say, the first thing that I set up was the backup system. This should tick away in the background for the next few years, protecting their data and giving them a fallback should anything be accidentally lost.

We managed a quiet hour with our books when we got home.

Vets

I eased into the day soon around 7:15. Coffee was consumed, the news was digested, and the day began.

The morning chores were soon out of the way and I decided that it was time for a haircut. Strolling into the village I concluded that the problem I have been having with my knee is not settling down. I have been wearing a knee brace for football, but the problem is not improving. I have decided not to play this week in the hope that it will settle with rest and gentle exercise. As I finished at the barber's he asked (again) if I was a pensioner. I said I was and had been for many years. His response was that I obviously had a good life and a good wife. What could I say? He got it in one!

This afternoon, Jasper was scheduled at the Vet. It was time for his annual checkup. We managed to sneak up and drop him into his carrier without too much drama. Having said that, he yowled the whole way to Chichester and then, in a fit of pique decided to empty his bowels. The aroma in the car was deeply unpleasant - it was a good job that we were virtually at the Vet's when it happened. Anyway, the annual check was completed without incident and he was given a clean bill of health.

Back home we had a quiet hour with our books before I started on dinner.

Cream crackered

 I was up soon after 7:00. Once awake, I see no point in staying in bed. I had football scheduled. That meant that coffee was off the menu - it has too great a diuretic effect. One cup of coffee seems to stimulate several gallons of urine just as I am ready to play football. Tea was the order of the day.

The teams seemed evenly matched. Having said that, we were soon trailing by two goals. I managed to claw those back with a couple of goals. By halftime, the score was about 5-all. In the second half, we swapped our goalie. This seemed to make the game more competitive. The game was played at a blistering pace and I was shattered by the end of it, Final score was about 12-12 and I had managed a couple more goals to chalk up 4 for the day.

Back home, I was useless. I had clearly expended my allocation of energy for the day. The afternoon was spent in the Orangery with my book and the occasional nap! By 4pm I had snapped out of my lethargy and got dinner of lamb shanks under way.

Exploiting the Web

I was up by 7:00. I was rested and ready to go. It was pouring with rain and Jasper (having completed his early morning choir practice) had gone back to sleep. I luxuriated in the first coffee of the day and made my way through the online news feeds.

At 9:00 I had the morning call with the Empson cousins. Unfortunately, Tim wasn't on the call so the visual joke I had set up will have to wait until next week.

Much of the remainder of the morning was spent looking at options for Internet access during our cruise (and incorporating the time that we would be onshore), I think I now have a clear view of what we need to do and have set up reminders to instigate these offerings at the right time.

Early afternoon I got a call from the dry cleaners. My jackets were ready. 

I hopped in the car and set off. Just around the corner, a red and blue car pulled out. It was only as it passed that I registered that it seemed to be driven by Spiderman - in full uniform (including the mask).

Reviewing the image later, I realised that the number plate was SP02 DEY (which I guess is pretty close to Spidey).

I assume this was a children's entertainer and that we don't live near Peter Parker's retirement complex.

Zoe collected Ellie from Pete. today. Ellie had been with Pete for the last couple of weeks. Today, she was coming home. Mid-afternoon they dropped in to see us so that we could have a cuddle and a chat with Ellie, having not seen her for 2 weeks. She seems to have grown some more and was very serious as she discussed the choice of best friend to accompany us to lunch on Zoe's birthday this week.

It was lovely to see her.

Studying

We were up fairly quickly this morning. Diane had an appointment at the hospital and we had to allow for traffic.

There was no traffic.

We were there with 30 minutes to spare. Today's appointment was not directly connected to her recent surgery. At least, that's what we thought. It was a discussion regarding Lipoproteins (Little a) which had been flagged in a blood test. The doctor was a specialist. Boy, was she a specialist! We had a 30-minute discussion of microbiology, the effects of this reading, the implications, and so forth. We saw diagrams of cholesterol molecules and the LPa molecules and had a lecture on their purpose and the velcro-like tails that the carrier molecules can develop. It was riveting. It also gave us the cause of the problem that had recently been addressed by the surgery. (Apparently, the cardiologists and microbiologists don't really communicate with each other).

Returning home, with Diane signed off by the hospital, I then went and watched a Webinar on the subject which has been developed by Heart UK. 

The rest of the day has been taken up with household chores and a bit of reading, though we did get a chance to talk with the Sonning Crew only to find out that Trudy and Ian have only just recovered from a bout of Covid. It just goes to show that it is still about!

Respite

We had some respite from the recent wet weather. Having said that, it hasn't really been too bad down here on this little section of the South Coast. 

Being Thursday, we had the usual excitement that accompanies the weekly shop. I managed to drop off some jackets to be dry-cleaned then managed to navigate my way through Sainsbury's without destroying the zombies who had just arrived. There may have been a few soto voce murmurings of "Oh for heaven's sake, get out of the way, you knuckle-dragging cretins" (or phrases with a similar meaning).

Diane had one of her regular blood tests today. She took herself along, no longer requiring my security escort.

I spent the early afternoon looking at the Internet packages available for our planned cruise. It was only when I saw the price I realised that I was buying not just Internet access, but probably the whole maritime satellite network as well. This is all very fine but I really have nowhere to store it when we get home. I will have to sleep on this. Methinks that P&O are taking the mickey.

Had a brief video call with Ellie. She will be home on Saturday, and it will be lovely to see her again. I confess that I have missed her cheery little presence.

Yellow Weather Warning

We have been subject to a yellow weather warning for most of the day with a forecast of very high winds and torrential rain. This was enough for us to relocate our football to the indoor arena at Ford. Having said that, there was bright sunshine when I arrived and no signs of the expected rain and wind. Getting there early allowed me time to stand and chat with Rick who now owns the place. They have made a few changes since I was last there regularly - and the changes seem to have opened it up and brightened it.

The game was a typical 5-a-side until one player had to leave in the second half. Unlike Sunday we played 3-touch football. It was a good and relatively close game. I managed to score one of our goals in a 7-5 defeat. I certainly have a way to go in terms of getting back to my usual fitness levels.

The rain started as I pulled up onto the driveway. It didn't really come to much and neither did the wind. We spent some time with our books and then Diane went to measure up some trousers that needed adjusting. I took the opportunity to dig out my dinner suit and check whether I could still get into it. Despite the fact that I bought the suit for a gala dinner that Diane and I attended during an Award Trip to Bermuda in 1994, I was amazed to find that it still fitted well.

Checkup

I did not sleep well, but fortunately, Diane did. She was off to her Cardiac rehab session, first thing. She is obviously doing well because they suggested she became a volunteer as she was doing so well. I suspect she will complete the course before she commits to anything like that.

After a spot of lunch, we headed for St Richard's. Diane had her post-op face-to-face with our local Cardiac Consultant. We arrived a bit earlier than necessary but Diane was swept into a side room for an ECG before the review. There was no hanging about. We had a lovely 20 minutes with the doctor and he was immensely pleased with the progress that has been made since the operation. He discussed various aspects of the medication and the performance and longevity of the carbon fibre valve. It all seems very positive and other than arranging for a base-level echocardiogram, that's all.

Quiet afternoon with the books though Kim called for a chat with Mum just as I started preparing dinner.