Back and Forth

Zoe had a day off. This meant there was no need for Ellie to be dropped off, so we had a brief lie-in. We couldn't laze around for too long as I still had to escort Ellie and Zoe to the school.

Back home, I changed into my football gear and Diane was already wrapped in her Pilates kit. We headed off towards Angmering. The roads were lovely and clear and we whizzed across in no time. I dropped Diane and then went on to Worthing for the football.

The game started as a 6-v-5. I was on the yellow team with just 5 players. We had no recognised goalkeepers on the pitch, so I played in goal for the first half. It was a good game, and we were 3-2 ahead at the halftime whistle. Ross, one of the orange team, had to drop out because he was having some trouble with his asthma. This evened up the sides. I played on the pitch for the second half. In the end, we won with a convincing 5-3 scoreline. (No goals from me today).

I headed back to Angmering and collected Diane. We drove home and as we started to unload the car she asked "Where's my coat?". Oops, it had been left behind at the Community Centre. I showered, changed, and we headed back to Angmering. The coat was retrieved and all was well.

We had a quiet afternoon, though Di went to collect Ellie and take her home, where Zoe was still with the hairdresser.

I've just had a call from Ellie. "Grandpa, someone is trying to spook me and Maddie," I asked a couple of questions to check that this was not some online contact. It wasn't. She continued "I have lots of evidence written down on two sheets of paper," I told her that was good and that she should show me in the morning. She responded, "I must go now, I will continue to investigate."

I look forward to her apprehending the miscreant.

The 1990s

It has been a mild, grey, dreich day. Ellie was dropped off at the usual time and munched her way through breakfast before going up to wash and dress. Once ready, she returned to the table to read some more of her book to Grandpa before school. 

Once back from the school run, we dropped into our mental list of chores. When they were out of the way, Diane returned to her sewing pattern and I updated the household accounts. With the accounts out of the way, I returned to the journal from the 1990s. I worked through until lunchtime but have only got as far as page 34 out of 178. I think this will take quite a while, but it is fun reminiscing as I read the letters we exchanged during my trips.

The afternoon was spent finishing my latest book and starting a new one. We collected Ellie from school, but she was only with us for about 10 minutes before Darren came to collect her.

All Change

Kim called us last night. Jon has had to go to Spain to see his mum (who is very ill). Kim has some holiday to use up, so she has booked a shepherd's hut for her and the dogs for a few day's break. She sent us some photos and it looks idyllic.

Today was Zoe's first day at the new store. This meant that, with a 07:00 start, she didn't need to leave home until 06:50. It's relatively civilised. It did mean, however, that Ellie was still dropped off just after 07:00 by Darren on his way off to work. Ellie was her usual bubbly self, and once fed, washed, and dressed, she sat down with me to do some reading before school.

Once Ellie had been dropped at school, Diane prepared to go out and meet her friend Angie for a coffee in Littlehampton. This left Jasper in charge, but he slunk off and went to sleep somewhere. That left me in charge. After some domestic chores involving the steam cleaner, I headed off into the village to get my hair cut.

Back home, feeling decidedly chilly around the ears, I headed for the study. The 1980s Journal may have been put to bed, but the 1990s were waiting in the wings. I made a start. The early part of the 90s seems to be documented primarily in letters sent when I was on business trips, or sent to my cousins in the US and Canada. There is a lot of work to do on this.

Di arrived home at lunchtime, and after a snack, we took up our positions in the lounge and managed an hour with the Kindles until it was time to collect Ellie. With Zoe working just around the corner, Ellie wasn't with us for long and by 16:30, she had gone, and a calm descended on the house.

Stand down

We couldn't muster sufficient players for football today. This meant there was no hurry to get going and I allowed myself the luxury of a lie-in until 07:45. I grabbed a coffee and read the news until Di emerged an hour later.

Once the day had started for real, I returned to Ellie's bedroom carpet and had another session trying to clear the stains left by Jasper last week. Whilst they are better than they were, there is still some faint, residual discolouration.

My journal from the 1980s was next on my agenda. In fact, I spent the rest of the day finishing the main edit and then going back through refining the index. It was finally complete and I have sent it off for printing. Next, I will start on the 1990s - a great deal of which is documented in letters rather than diary entries.

Di, meanwhile, finished some ironing and then spent the rest of the day working on a sewing pattern. This occupied much of the kitchen work surface - which is ideal for projects. She finished just in time for me to start on dinner.

Spooky or Coincidence

 It started as a typical Saturday.  I wandered downstairs a little later than during the week, grabbed a coffee and read the news. When Diane came down, I went and dressed and then prepared for my call with the cousins. The call followed the usual storyline of news, reminiscences, banter and general good humour. They are a nice bunch.

Last week, Jane had given me a bunch of old letters and papers written by my mum and dad back in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. I set about scanning these and filing them in my genealogy folders. As I filed each letter, I read it, and where no date was included, tried to work out from the content or the handwriting when it was likely to have been written. (Are you with me so far?)

One letter, written when Dad was about 7 years old, asked his aunt and uncle "Have you seen John Rickerby?" This was a name I had never heard before and I thought no more of it. I was trying to use other context from the letter to determine its date. I needed Dad's sister's birth date. I fired up a browser and logged in to Ancestry. My Home page was displayed. There was a band of recent DNA matches near the top. The first entry was a Laura Rickerby, who is apparently a distant cousin. I was gobsmacked. Rarely has my gob been so smacked! What are the chances of me finding a reference in a 1930s letter to a name I had never previously known and the first website I look at after that claims someone with the same family name is in fact a cousin?

I immediately wrote a message to Laura and now wait with eager anticipation for a reply.

The rest of the day has been spent doing some chores in the garden and cleaning up after Jasper in Ellie's bedroom. I also managed to finish my latest book and have downloaded a new one.

MOT

We were up in time for Ellie to be dropped off. She was very chirpy this morning but wasn't interested in doing any schoolwork before we took her to school. This was fine as she was up-to-date with her homework. 

Back home, Diane got ready for her Cardiac Rehab session at the Community Centre. I had a quick breakfast and prepared to walk to the local surgery. I have probably mentioned that I was intrigued that everyone I knew was subjected to an annual health check (MOT), yet I was never called. This year, I have been. It started with a request to complete an online questionnaire which I submitted last month. Then I had an appointment for a face-to-face follow-up. I walked to the surgery for my 10:00 appointment (arriving early, as I always do). I was soon called into a consulting room where the nurse took an armful of blood, and then I was dismissed. Everything else had been covered in the questionnaire. At 09:57 I started my walk home. It had not been what you might refer to as "intense" or "thorough". I now await the results of the blood test.

Following up on my comment from yesterday, we decided to terminate the Ocado deliveries. It really doesn't make sense as we have to go out anyway for the "top-up". Cancelling the Ocado deliveries triggered some tinkering with the spreadsheet used for the accounts and some editing of the online shopping list. (I have managed to get "Siri" to put items on the list from any of my Apple devices, Watch, iPad, iPhone, etc.).

After an hour or so of reading in the lounge, we collected Ellie from school. She wanted to stop at the park, and as it had turned into a lovely sunny afternoon, we allowed her to let off steam with her school chums for a while. Back home, she did some maths homework and reading until Pete came to collect her for the weekend.

Spring?

It was a gorgeous day. It was clear and the sun shone unhindered. Ellie was dropped off at the usual time and once she had eaten breakfast, and washed and dressed, she settled down for some more maths practice on the iPad before school.

Back home, after dropping Ellie, we had a quiet breakfast and awaited the Ocado delivery. That turned up early within the allotted time slot, but because of a leaking milk container, it took a long time to clean up and square everything away. We headed off to Sainsbury's and completed the "top-up". I have been considering whether this two-supplier scheme really does us any favour. I am tempted to cancel the Ocado deliveries and pick up all our shopping from Sainsbury's.

The sun continued to shine and we made the most of the lovely afternoon by sitting in the Orangery reading our Kindles and enjoying the 25C temperature.

We collected Ellie from school and spent time listening to her read and then asking questions about the story before her dinner. Zoe has just been along to collect her and confirmed that she has been given a new store. As of next Monday, she will be the Deputy at the Sainsbury's store in Shripney (Bognor Regis). Given that this is only 2 miles from home, it could not be a better location. We are all delighted.

Walking not football

Ellie was dropped off and the day began in the usual way. After seeing her to the classroom door, we came home. In my case, for breakfast, in Diane's to get ready for Pilates. We were short of players today, so there was no football. 

Diane took the car and headed for Angmering. I walked to the bus stop and caught the bus into Bognor Regis. My plan was to walk eastwards to the Lobster Pot and then double back as far as West Park before returning to catch the bus home. It didn't quite work out. Huge pipes have been installed at the mouth of Aldingbourne Rife (probably as part of the flood alleviation measures that were put in place over the last month or two). The route of the promenade was diverted through a park and along the side streets. I couldn't be bothered with that so performed a smart about turn and headed west.

The westward leg of the walk was into the wind. This made it a little chilly but upped the heart rate. As I approached the pier I remembered that I had read an article last week that explained the original edifice had been 1000 feet long. That's three times the length of the remaining structure. Like so many piers it has been plagued by winter storms, fires, lack of maintenance, and lack of investment. At least they seem to be renewing parts of the deck at the moment.

I carried on along the promenade and then crossed the road into Marine Gardens which took me all of the way to West Park, where I started my return journey.

I timed it to perfection. As I arrived back on Bognor High Street, a bus was waiting. I hopped on, and 10 minutes later I was home. 

Diane had stopped for tea and a chat after Pilates. It was quite a while before she arrived home. We had a quiet afternoon in the Lounge with our Kindles until it was time to collect Ellie from her after-school dance class. She came back with us for some dinner and has just been collected by Zoe (who managed to get away at a sensible time, today).

Plans can Go Awry

Ellie was dropped off soon after 07:00. She was her usual sparkly self and after breakfast and she was washed and dressed, she returned to the kitchen to do some "TT Rockstars". This is a game on the iPad (other tablets and computers are available) that tests the players on their times tables. It is terrific and they score points based on their aptitude. These allow them to compete against other players. With her brain now warmed up, she was ready for school.

I had an email overnight from Lulu (the publisher of my journals). My plan regarding the preparation of some covers for, as-yet, unwritten journals, seems to be flawed. It seems that whilst they will work, it will not be possible to edit them. This meant a frantic spell of downloading the source images for all the existing journals and then the creation of the specific back-matter for the new ones. With that complete, hopefully, the journals will not require any further editing of their cover material.

The rest of the day has been spent working on the 1989 section of the 1980s offering. Gosh, I had forgotten what. a busy year that had been. There is a further 35-40 pages to edit and I will probably re-visit one section that could benefit from more photos.

We collected Ellie from school. She had enjoyed the day and was still eager to work. She did more "TT Rockstars", some reading with Nana, some experiments to do with what floats and what sinks (part of the Titanic project), and started looking for a suitable map on which she could plot the route of the doomed ship. AT that point, Zoe arrived to collect her.

Now that is better

It was incredibly misty when I got up. I double-checked that I was wearing my glasses but had to conclude it was the weather, not my eyesight. I popped around the corner to walk Ellie to school and then came home for breakfast. Zoe hoped to hear about her new posting this morning, but that has been postponed until Thursday lunchtime, so we are waiting for the white smoke.

After a few domestic chores, Diane settled down to her sewing. I returned to the journals. With the proposed changes to the "Lulu" interface and particularly the cover creation tools, I created some dummy books with the correct covers. These can then be revised with the proper content when it is ready, without changing the covers.

Talking of the journals, I returned to the full edit of the 1980s. This has taken me most of the day but is not finished. Though I have got as far as 1989, I still have 60 pages to go.

The doorbell rang. It was the postman and clutched in his hand was the printed version of the 2023 journal. I grabbed the post and quickly unboxed the journal. I was delighted with the way it turned out. I am particularly pleased with the section dealing with our cruise and the way that the photos enhance the text. I just hope that the last few journals are as successful.

 

Again

When we got home last night, a package was waiting for us. It was the finished journal for the 1970s. I had a quick flick through and saw some improvements that could be made to the layout. I spent the morning going back through the pages and optimising the use of space (eliminating any large blank areas), adding some more photos, and adding some more text from my old diaries. Job done, I have now sent this off for printing.

I also created an album of photos from yesterday's Birthday Lunch for Trevor and shared them with the people who may be interested. 

While Diane spent the afternoon sewing in her study, I made the most of the sunshine and sat in the Orangery, reading. Another book bit the metaphorical dust. A new one has been selected, but not yet started.

Candles

The day started with my usual call with the Empson cousins. Everyone seemed well and on good form. The main event for the day, however, was a trip to Jane and Trevor's.

Today was Trevor's birthday and Jane had arranged for us to come for lunch along with John and Sophies, and Mark and Lel. We had a strange trip up to Wokingham, with the SatNav trying to reroute us time and again, but always showing that the original route had a similar ETA. This made the purpose of the alternate route seem questionable. I stuck with route one.

We were greeted with some very welcome coffee and a chance to chat. Mark and the fabled Lel were already there, and it was nice to meet her, finally. 

John and Sophie turned up soon after us. It was the first time we had seen them for ages, and it was nice to have time for a chat.

As usual, Jane laid on a wonderful feast and a great deal of laughter seemed to punctuate the meal (not a reflection on Jane's cooking, I would add). 

After lunch, Trevor and I went for a walk and on our return we all gathered in the living room for some cake and some more chat.

It is Lel's birthday this coming week, so we also wished her a Happy Birthday and she opened some cards and presents.

We left just before 18:00 and had a wonderful run home. We were back by 19:30 and settled down for a quiet evening.

Easing

I slept well and I realised whilst making my coffee that my shoulder had eased a bit overnight. It was still uncomfortable, but not as bad as yesterday. I wandered around the corner to Zoe's and provided the traditional security detail as she walked to school with Ellie.

Back home there was some admin to clear and then I returned to the 1980s journal. Today saw the editing of notes I had written when away in Poughkeepsie, and commentary from a holiday we had in Devon. I am trying to add some illustrative photos, taken at the time, to enhance the text. This, however, is proving time-consuming.

Diane made use of the quiet day by returning to her sewing room and getting on with her project. I spent the afternoon in the warmth of the Orangery, reading my latest book.

There's nothing else to report.

Burdening the Shoulder

A gentle start to the day. Overnight rain had dried and the temperature was pleasant as I walked around to Zoe's to join the school walk. Zoe's back trouble seems to have eased thank goodness and Ellie was busy doing maths challenges on the iMac before we left for school.

I have been struggling with some discomfort in my shoulder/collar. This started a couple of days ago and I assume I had turned awkwardly in bed. Today it is becoming more acute and looking in the mirror I currently have one shoulder higher than the other. I hope it eases soon as it can be quite limiting.

I may have mentioned that I recently discovered that you can create mail templates in Gmail. Diane regularly has to send her blood test results to the hospital along with answers to several questions. This seemed like a prime candidate for one of these templates. I grabbed her MacBook and created a "draft" with all the basic information. I then saved it as a template. It seems to work perfectly as you call up the draft and overtype the relevant numbers and answers to send.

We had the usual shopping interlude today.

Most of the afternoon was spent finishing my latest book and starting a new one. Though there are many more books in the series that I have been reading, I need a change of pace and style before going back for more. I downloaded several more books from Kindle Unlimited to have some stacked up.

Toys from Pram

Ellie's walk to school included Grandpa acting as a Sherpa and carrying her model of the Titanic.  She had done an excellent job on it, with guidance from Nana. I look forward to hearing the feedback at some point.

Back home Diane and I got our gear together and headed for Angmering. Diane had Pilates and I was going on to football. She has been taking some new tablets to reduce the discomfort from her knee. She has taken them for a couple of weeks and now feels they are helping, so Pilates was a good test.

We had a 5-a-side game with teams picked by Jack. The sides seemed even and in the end, they proved to be, but not without some drama. I scored the first 2 goals for the yellow team. We then got another. Jack, in orange, was getting very cross and barking his orders at his team (without following them himself). We scored again. Jack threw his toys out of the metaphorical pram, stormed off in disgust, and went home. The orange team immediately scored! At halftime, we tried to rebalance the teams (as it was now 5-v-4). Yellows became the team of 4 having swapped a player to the oranges. We scored again (assist from me). Then the oranges started to claw things back until orange Fred sprained his ankle and had to leave the pitch. The game finished 4-v-4 and the final score was 5-5. There are times when it's a bit like Kindergarten.

I collected Diane from Pilates and we headed home. We had a couple of hours in the orange, making the most of the sunshine. As the sun dropped, we headed for our respective studies to get on with our current projects.

Unsinkable

It was very wet overnight so I had to wear waterproofs when I went to join the trek to school with Ellie and Zoe. Ellie was full of the joys of Spring (a couple of months early). She had a class outing today. They would be going to Southampton to see the Titanic Museum as part of their theme for the term "Unsinkable".

Back home, I grabbed some breakfast, read the news, and then headed for the study. Diane, similarly, headed for her study so that she could get on with her sewing project.

I managed to finish the editing of the 1970s Journal. It was quite sparse in places, but I need contemporaneous notes or photos to retrofit entries. I sent it off for printing and then waded into the 1980s. So far, I have managed to get as far as 1985, covering Pal and Michelle's wedding, Jane and Trevor's wedding, our move to Broom, a business trip to Los Angeles, and joining IBM. There's a long way to go.

Zoe has problems with her back, so Diane and I went to collect Ellie from school. She had clearly enjoyed the day and was full of snippets from the trip. I did ask if she knew the names of all the survivors, yet. She treated the question with the contempt it deserved uttering a withering "Grandpa!".

Going back, going way back

The storm, ISHA, that caused so much disruption across the country had no impact on us. We heard the wind howling around the chimney and the rain beating against the back of the house but that was the only impact here. I got up soon after 07:00 and made a coffee. At the allotted time I went around to Zoe's so that I could walk to school with her and Ellie,

Back home with breakfast under our belts, Diane returned to her sewing and I buried myself in the study. The balance for the planned River Cruise had to be paid, and the accounts were updated. After that, I returned to the 1970 journal. I started back at the beginning so that I could do the indexing. There is still a way to go, but progress was good.

After lunch, Diane went to the hairdresser and I settled down in the Orangery with my book. It was wonderfully warm in the direct sunshine and I got a couple of hours reading under my belt. As Diane was out, I went along with Zoe to collect Ellie from school. 

Zoe was having problems printing Ellie's homework. They came to us and I managed to get everything printed. Once home, however, Ellie had a meltdown while doing the homework. Grandpa was summoned. After 10 minutes of talking to her quietly and giving her some long silences, she calmed down and came to give me a hug. All was back on an even keel, and I returned home. Since getting home Zoe has sent us a photo of the completed homework. Crisis averted.

Published

I had a gentle start to the day. Some coffee and toast while reading the news followed by changing for football.

Again I was glad that I left early. The car park was filling rapidly when I arrived. We had 11 players today, so we played 5-v-6. I played on the Orange team of 5. It is always hard work when you are outnumbered, and by halftime, we were 3-1 down and I was tiring.  I had been playing in defence, but ranging forward when I got the chance. In the second half, I focussed on the defence. This seemed to work as we kept a clean sheet while starting to score at the far end. The final score was 6-3 to us. It is clear that I have a long way to go before I am back at my fitness levels of last year.

Back home, Diane was concentrating on her latest sewing project. I returned to the 2023 journal and finally sent it off for printing. I noticed that the quick template "lkulu.com" provided for the book covers is being withdrawn at the end of the month. This troubles me because when I publish this 2024 journal, I will want to use the same cover template as I have for all the previous years.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with my book until it was time for dinner. I cooked steak for dinner tonight and while Diane's one was nice, mine was chewy and full of gristle.

Warmer but Colder

It was cold overnight. It may not be colder than yesterday or the day before but there was a hard frost this morning, unlike the previous crisp, clear mornings.

After the cousins' call, I settled down with the 2023 journal. I have now managed to complete the editing process. I may have one more quick pass, but suspect that it is ready for submission to "lulu.com" and a print run.

Di spent much of the day in her study working on her latest sewing project. She also spent a great deal of time wading through Amazon selecting a birthday present for her nephew.

I thought that I'd spend an hour in the Orangery with my book. The problem was that it was a lot warmer today (6c) but not as sunny. High clouds filtered the sun. Perversely, this meant that it wasn't as warm in the Orangery as there was little direct, unfiltered sunlight. In the end, I sat in the lounge for an hour, before returning to the computer and the 2023 edit.

Change of Plan

It would be trite to say we had a change of plan. That implies we had a plan to start with. Ellie was unwell last night. and Zoe decided that she should stay away from school and see the doctor. So it was that just before 09:00,  Zoe arrived with Ellie in tow. Ellie would spend the day with us.

Ellie seemed fine, but it is better to be safe than sorry. An appointment with the doctor was arranged for early afternoon. During the morning we did some maths (mainly times tables) and some reading. I have mentioned before that Ellie is making a model of the Titanic for a school project. Much of the balance of the day was spent with Nana painting, cutting, and glueing the model. By this evening, it was almost finished.

I managed to get the first full pass of the 2023 journal complete and also had a chance to review and rework the index. I must now write the notes for the back cover and write a Prologue. I should be able to complete that over the weekend.

After a clean bill of health from the doctor, Ellie has gone off to Pete's for the weekend.

Key to Success

Ellie was dropped off soon after 07:00. Darren had had to wake her and she was still half asleep when she came into us. She soon perked up and we supervised while she had breakfast and prepared for school.

Back home, after breakfast, I decided to make another attempt to solve the problem with Diane's iPad keyboard. I did not believe that there was a problem with the Logitech Slim Folio, but how could I get it to pair with the iPad? Most of the suggestions online offered the same advice. I had tried that multiple times, and each time it failed. I finally found a suggestion that was different from the rest. I tried that and voila we now have a fully functioning keyboard again.

We had the usual shopping excitement with the Ocado delivery and the Sainsbury's top-up. The accounts were brought up to date, and the "must-do" list was finished.

It was gloriously warm in the Orangery. It may have been hovering around 0C outside, but the sun had warmed the inside nicely. We sat and read our books until it was time to collect Ellie. Once home, I sat with her while she did some reading and then Nana helped her with her model of the Titanic while I prepared dinner.

We were just finishing dinner when Zoe arrived to collect Ellie. She has a later start and a shorter day tomorrow, so she will be able to join the walk to school in the morning.

Chatterbox

Ellie had stayed with us overnight. She was awake at 06:30 but didn't disturb us until she heard me in the bathroom. We had the usual pre-school schedule with the addition of preparing her change of clothes for dance class, after school. We dropped her off and returned home.

Diane has been struggling with her knee and didn't feel up to Pilates this week. I left her in the warm, at home, and set off for football. The temperature was hovering around 0C, so it was going to be chilly! Like last week, we played without any goalkeepers, again we were only allowed to score from within the goal area. I rather like this format. The problem we had was that Jack (who is the arbiter of the rules) dynamically changed the rules during the game. He claimed, of course, that he didn't, but it was really quite blatant. Anyway, I managed to score the opening goal and my team ended up with a 7-4 win.

Back home, Diane was working on a sewing pattern and sat down to edit some more of the 2023 journal. I have now completed this through to Diane's birthday in late November. I also managed to get some reading time before collecting Ellie from the dance class. Once we were home I started on dinner. We needed to be finished and clear so that Zoe could collect Ellie and we could go out for the evening.

We drove into town and parked near the Chichester Festival Theatre. Kim had got us tickets to see "Gyles Brandreth Can't Stop Talking".

We had deliberately arrived early and stood in the foyer with a drink while watching the thrum and enjoying the buzz of the place as it filled up. Gyles Brandreth was there in the foyer signing copies of his books and chatting with the customers.

Time ticked by and the auditorium was opened. We took our seats on a side balcony. Our tickets warned of possible restrictions to our view, but in reality, there was no problem.

Gyles took the stage and started to regale us with stories from his childhood, from his forthcoming TV appearances, from his recent TV appearances, from his time in politics as an MP, from his friendships with the Royal Family, and from the theatre. He mercilessly name-dropped throughout.

It was a wonderful evening there was hardly a spare seat in the house and the audience was completely entranced and amused. He opened up the floor for some random questions and went back into full flow - whatever the subject.

We left the theatre at about 22:00 and were home by twenty-past.

Not much

There is not a great deal to report, today. I performed my statutory escort duties, taking Ellie from home to school, with Zoe and returning home for breakfast. The first task after that was to clean the cat vomit from under Ellie's bed. (We had discovered it yesterday. It was clearly old, so it scraped up easily. I soaked it in the carpet cleaner to return to it today). The carpet cleaner powered up and soon had everything clean. The bed was replaced and order was restored.

The rest of the morning was spent editing the 2023 journal. Progress was steady and I'm pleased with the results. Unexpectedly, Kim dropped in. She was on her way back from the gym. She stayed with us for an hour or so and it was nice to catch up and chat. She is looking very well. We hear Jon is very busy at work and getting plenty of overtime. Kim left soon after 13:00.

After lunch, we went and sat in the Orangery. It was the warmest it has been so far this year. We read our Kindles until it was time to collect Ellie. Diane went along to meet with Zoe and get Ellie from school. I stayed put, submitted the week's shopping order, and then returned to editing the journal. I have now managed to complete it through to mid-October, so should finish in a couple of days.

We are expecting Zoe to drop Ellie off soon. She will be staying with us overnight, tonight.

Projects

Ellie was dropped off soon after 07:00. We followed the time-honoured pre-school agenda - breakfast, ablutions, school uniform, and then at the appointed time I walked Ellie to school.

After breakfast, I got on with some chores before retiring to my Study. The editing process for 2023 was picked up where I left it yesterday. May and June were completed before I broke for lunch. Diane, meanwhile was sequestered in her Study, doing further work on the pattern from yesterday.

After lunch, I returned to the editing and completed July and August. I then settled down with my book, in the warmth of the sun-kissed Orangery. I timed it to perfection, turning the last page of the book just as it was time to collect Ellie.

Ellie is learning about the Titanic this term. As a project activity, she is going to make a model of the fated ship. Once she had changed out of her school clothes, she and Diane got stuck into cutting out and painting parts for a model of the sinking ship. It occurred to me that a bowl full of ice might be more appropriate, but that was voted down. They made some good progress before a stop for dinner.

Zoe has just dropped in and collected Ellie.

Boots

I felt that my cough (which won't go away) was sufficiently under control for a football game. My name was put on the list on Thursday. Remembering how busy the Arena can get, I left at 09:00 and whizzed across to Ford. It was a good job I had allowed plenty of time because I took the last parking spot. Never mind, this was my first Sunday game for a long time, and I was looking forward to getting my boots on.

Sometimes, it's the anticipation that kills you. Despite my eagerness to play, I was, at best, mediocre. I just could not click into gear. I defended well and stopped a lot of attacks. I also played some telling passes to my attackers, resulting in goals, but I never quite got my engine running. The game ended up honours even at 10-10, and I went home for a cup of tea and a shower.

Back home, Diane was working on a dress pattern. Once showered, I kept her company by working in the family room on the MacBook. I managed to complete the edit for May and June of 2023. By this point, the sun was streaming through the Orangery so we grabbed our Kindles and sat in the warmth of the weak winter sun reading until the sun dropped below the houses and the temperature dropped with it.

Reset

My day started with the cousins' call. I had come down quietly to install Zoom on the new MacBook so that I could take the call in the kitchen if Diane wanted a lie-in. As it happens, she didn't so I used the iMac as usual.

Diane pointed out that her iPad had been unable to complete the latest software update. It was low on space. I had recently gone through and deleted a lot of junk but needed to clear more additional space. I went through again looking for chunks of storage that could be cleared. Try as I may, I could not clear sufficient space for the update. Plan B was called into action. I did a factory reset on the iPad and rebuilt it from scratch. Further trimming was performed on locally-resident photos and in the end, we had a nice clean build with plenty of space. The update was performed and everything seemed to be hunky-dory.

Oh no, it wasn't! The Logitech keyboard would not pair with the iPad. I read all the advice online, re-read the manual and tried everything I could think of. Nada. The keyboard would not work. At this point, in a fit of pique, I resorted to Plan C. I paired my small, foldable keyboard (the one I used for blogging while we were on the cruise) with the iPad. This worked fine, so for now, we have a working solution. I will have to return to this in the coming days.

We both managed to do some reading this afternoon. I then returned to the new MacBook and edited some more of the 2023 journal.

Two Loos

Ellie was awake at 6:30 and checked that she could play quietly in her room. Of course she could and we could have another 30 minutes in bed. The morning kicked into gear and before we knew it, it was time to take Ellie to school.

Back home we topped up our caffeine levels and had some breakfast. Normally, being Friday, Diane would go to the Cardiac Rehab session. Her knee has been giving her trouble and she has been prescribed a new tablet (as she can't take Ibuprofen) to try and ease the discomfort. The dose increases from now, but so far has not made any appreciable difference. Cardiac Rehab would have to wait, but she went along to the Community Centre to explain to the nurse why she would not be attending.

After I had completed some domestic chores, I settled down to answer some questions that had come in from Brian Kennedy and Mike Nastys. This reminded me that I had not yet booked the flights for our long weekend with Michael in June. It didn't take too long, but we now have flights booked to and from Toulouse. It should be fun.

Diane suggested we look for a cottage or somewhere where we can stay as a family to make sure Ellie gets a proper holiday. There were threats of Zoe taking her abroad, but there has been no movement on getting passports sorted out. I spent a couple of hours looking at rentals on the Isle of Wight and along the Dorset coast. There are several candidates but we will have to discuss them with the wider family.

I collected Ellie from school. She was very proud that she had been awarded the certificate "Star of the Week" and also received the headmistress's award. I laminated the certificate as soon as we got home. She wasn't with us for too long. Pete came to collect her for the weekend.

Tradition

Ellie only disturbed once I was up and dressed. The normal protocols were completed and we walked her to school. Miss Yardley (her teacher) came to us to say that a place had become available in her Wednesday dance class - and Ellie had first refusal. We confirmed, immediately.

Back home, we had the traditional Thursday morning: breakfast, Ocado delivery, and a trip to Sainsbury's. Back home I had a chat with Trevor, who was trying to decide on the best advice for an elderly client, regarding a laptop. After some discussion, the idea of a Chromebook was floated. I then did some research to find some inexpensive candidates that should fit the requirements.

Early afternoon was spent in the sunshine, in the Orangery, and then I returned to my editing of the 2023 journal. I've now completed the first 4 months. 

We collected Ellie from school and I found myself roped into the continued build of a Lego coffee and cake shop. This was fun and occupied an hour or so before I started preparing dinner.

Ellie is in the bath at the moment. She is staying with us again tonight.

Minus

It was cold again overnight, and was only -2C when we got up. Ellie had slept through and didn't stir until we were up and about. We got her ready for school and dropped her off, as usual.

We both had planned exercise this morning. Diane was going to Pilates for the first session this "term" and I was due to play football for the first time in a month. I cleared the frost from the car and we set off for Angmering and Worthing. It was surprising how quiet the traffic was. I didn't have to stop at any traffic lights or roundabouts the whole way. I dropped Di off in Angmering and then continued on to Worthing.

It was clear that they had more snow than we did. The football pitch was still half-covered with icy snow. We played an interesting variation of the rules, today. We had no goalkeepers, we could only score from within the goal area, and we could take as many touches as we liked. It did mean that we would all be far more active and that should keep us warm in the frosty weather. It worked well and turned into a very close game. I scored the opening goal and provided assists for three more. I think the final score was 7-5 to us.

Back home I enjoyed a long hot shower before we had some lunch and then settled in the Orangery with our books. As long as the sun was on the Orangery, it was quite delightful but as soon as the sun dropped behind the houses the temperature dropped very quickly. 

I collected Ellie from school and we had a chatty couple of hours before dinner. She will be staying with us again tonight.

Chilly

 It was very chilly overnight. Soon after 05:00, Ellie wandered into our room and asked for a time check. How long until she out play in her room. I explained that there was well over an hour to go and that she should return to bed, which she did. At 06;30 she announced that the clock had turned yellow and she could now play. I agreed but impressed on her that it should be quiet play.

We got up at the usual time and went through the usual morning protocol. The only variation was that Lorraine (who had an early meeting at the Hospital) dropped Maddie off. So that we could walk her to school with Ellie.

After the school run and some breakfast we got on with the day. Diane fired up the washing machine for some laundry, and I settled down in the study with the journal edit for last year. I have returned to it several times throughout the day and have now got as far as Mid-April.

After lunch we had some quiet time with our Kindles before I went off to collect Ellie from school. Goodness, it was chilly and it was nice to get back int warm.

Snow!

It was a chilly start to the day. Ellie was dropped off after 7:00 but we soon realised she had left her school shoes behind. I wandered around to Zoe's with a degree of trepidation. Would I be able to find the errant footwear? As it happens, and quite surprisingly, the answer was yes. They were right in the middle of the lounge floor... I'm not sure how they could have been forgotten!

After the school run, we came back for a quiet breakfast. Di had a call scheduled with her friend, Marilyn at 10:00. I went and hid in the study and updated the accounts before returning to the editing of the 2023 Journal. It took a couple of hours, but I have now completed the journal through to the end of February.

At lunchtime, it started to snow. It wasn't heavy, but it was enough to cover the Orangery roof and make the house feel quite dark. The flakes continued for most of the afternoon but they were not settling. I settled down with my Kindle before starting to cook a chicken for dinner.

Ellie was very excited about the snow when I collected her from school. She has been reading her school book to Nana this evening and is now having a bath and hair wash while I write this.

Editing

I had a very lazy start to the day and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast while reading the news aggregators. Once I finally stirred into action I got some household chores out of the way before retiring to the study and returning to the edit of last year's journal. I went back over the entries I had already done, refining them some more and then continued with the entries through to the end of January.

After lunch, Diane popped around to Zoe's. Zoe has a busy week coming up and we offered to look after Ellie all week. I think this way she gets the least disruption, and was pleased to hear that Ellie had agreed to it. 

After an hour or so with my book, I got on with dinner (roast pork), while Diane had a call with Jan Mabbott.

This and that

Not a huge amount to report, today. I had my usual cousins' call first thing. The main topic of conversation was the Post Office Horizon scandal, which has been featured in a TV drama this week. Clearly, all who have seen it are seething with anger at the injustice perpetrated by the liars at the top of the organisation trying to cover it all up. Thank goodness this was another public sector bid that IBM failed to win. I just feel sorry for the IT Staff who blew the whistle and said that the project was not ready.

Much of the day was spent with the final tidying away of the Xmas decorations into their storage boxes and then squirrelling them away in the garage and loft. It is all done, now.

Had a couple of hours with my book this afternoon. I finished one, and have started on another.

Straight

I performed my escort duties, going around to Zoe's and walking with her and Ellie to school. There was a marked chill in the air compared with the last few days. At least it was dry.

Back home, fed and caffeinated I retrieved the last boxes from the garage and started removing the Christmas decorations. This started with the outside lights which were carefully spooled onto wiring frames and prepared for storage. The Christmas tree was stripped of all its baubles and then the lights were spooled for storage. The tree was dismantled and the three parts were wrestled into the relevant storage box or polythene bags. A pile of nearly dead batteries had formed and were put to one side for recycling. Meanwhile, Diane was working through all of the baubles and ornaments and stowing them in their boxes.

This had taken several hours. The house was straight, but the Orangery was filled with boxes of decorations. They will have to wait until tomorrow when Di has finished sorting through before I stow them in the garage.

Had a quiet hour with my Kindle before walking to school to collect Ellie. Di would have come, but Denise had phoned and they were still in full swing! Ellie came home and got on with some Maths until Pete came to collect her for the weekend.

Settling Influence

Ellie sleeping here last night was clearly a settling influence on Jasper. Other than a couple of plaintiff cries, he didn't disturb us. Ellie woke soon after 06:30 but remained in her room until 07:00, then the day kicked into gear. Having dropped Ellie at school we returned home for breakfast and prepared for the shopping. 

Ocado arrived at the start of their timeslot and soon after we were heading for Sainsbury's for the top-up. The rest of the morning was spent on admin. The early afternoon saw the Kindle flashing from page to page as I read my latest book. Outside, the rain was thrashing down, so I told Diane to stay put when the school pickup time approached. We may only be 5 minutes walk from the school but Ellie and I were completely soaked by the time we arrived home.

Once she had dried off and changed, she did some maths and some reading with Diane while I prepared dinner. She has just gone home with Zoe.

Pottering

It has been a day devoted to pottering about. Nothing strenuous after the interrupted night we had, courtesy of Jasper. At 02:00 this morning he waltzed into our bedroom and vomited all over the floor. So it was that in the early hours, we were scraping up his mess and spraying the carpet.  We tried to settle. He didn't. He went into full choral mode and wouldn't shut up until Diane went and opened his breakfast bowl. Jasper is very unpopular at present.

During the morning I managed to retrieve the storage boxes from the garage. I then started to remove some of the decorations. Many will have to wait for tomorrow, but we've made a start.

We chatted with Jane and Trevor. We were considering our next cruise. We narrowed it down to the Canaries and three particular sailings. Trevor then chatted with our Agent and with her help we managed to get the sort of suite we prefer and isolated one sailing. After a few calls, a deposit was paid and we are all set for September 2025.

Ellie is staying with us tonight. She is reading with Nana as I write this and will soon be left to sleep.

Back to School

 For Ellie, it was "back to school". She seemed a bit withdrawn when I went around to walk her to school, but I'm sure she would have picked up as soon as class began.

Much of the morning was spent looking through the cruise shortlist we had created last year. I was able to update it with the latest prices and offers and took the opportunity to review some of the YouTube reviews. There is a big disparity in the prices for the cruises on the list. We sat and chatted about the options and concluded that some of the prices were silly and that we could do two cruises for the price of the more extreme sailings.

As you would expect I spent some time on the accounts and have now extended the 2024 spreadsheet to include all the months of the year. (I usually start the spreadsheet with just January and February until I am sure everything is working the way I want).

The afternoon was spent with my Kindle as I homed in on the last chapter or so of my latest book.

New Year

As we were both feeling under the weather, we went to bed early and slept through the traditional NYE celebrations. We needed a good night's sleep. Jasper had other ideas. He was aware that another exhibition of his operatic talents would not be appreciated so, instead, he gobbled down his food and at 03:20 this morning vomited it up over the landing and our bedroom carpet. Our first conscious activity of 2024 was cleaning up cat vomit.

Despite the interrupted night, I managed to sleep in until 07:30.

The day has been very low-key. Diane caught up on some laundry and I exercised the carpet cleaner on the marks from last night. Fortunately, the stains seem to have lifted. 

I extracted the whole journal/blog for 2023 and converted it from HTML to MsWord format. I started to apply the various formatting and style changes required to create the hardcopy journal. It is a slow process but I have managed to get the first couple of weeks of January 2023 formatted and ready. There's just 50 more weeks to go!

In the early afternoon, I managed to get an hour or two with my latest book before starting to prepare dinner. I heard from Trevor. He wants to revisit our cruise options. We'll try to have a joint Zoom call on Wednesday.

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.