Uneventful

 It has been quite uneventful. It was chilly overnight but clear and bright by the time the Gorse Fox wandered down for coffee. He went round to escort Ellie to school with the Urban-Cub and then returned home for more coffee and some porridge.

The morning was spent with some admin and a trip to the shops. This latter trip had been seen as a quick 10 minute sortie to M&S. The traffic along the Shripney Road, however, soon put paid to that idea. For some stupid reason (which the Gorse Fox never discovered), the traffic was queued back to the Bognor Regis hospital and the idea of 10 minutes went out the window. To add insult to injury (metaphorically speaking), M&S didn't have what he wanted and he ended up finding it in Sainsbury's (so could have bought it yesterday).

The weather was due to close in during the afternoon. The Silver Vixen wandered round to collect Ellie from school and was pleased to report that she had the Head Teacher's Award, a "Star of the Week" certificate for her enthusiasm for learning, and a "Good Work" sticker. The Gorse Fox is immensely proud of her.

The rest of the afternoon has ben spent reading. The rain has set in for the duration, and the heating has come on.

Butchers

It was another lovely bright but chilly start to the day. We had to be on the go a little earlier than usual to accommodate the reorganised Ocado delivery. Despite that, the Gorse Fox still went to escort Ellie to school with Urban-Cub, as usual. By the time he got home, Ocado had been and gone and the Silver Vixen had put everything away.

Lady Penelope had asked to accompany us to Sainsbury's for our top-up. (Old Bill is still several weeks from driving, and is getting very depressed at how slowly his recuperation is going.) We did the usual Sainsbury's run and then came home to unload. The Gorse Fox then went back out. The cat needed cat litter, the car needed petrol, and the Gorse Fox needed to get to a proper butcher. He won't reveal what he has purchased from the butcher, as it is something he has never cooked before. He is, however, very hopeful for a really nice Sunday lunch... as long as he doesn't cock it up. (It is remarkable how few butchers' shops still exist; they used to be a fixed trader in every high street, but now you are lucky to find one in anything smaller than large town). The Gorse Fox had to drive across to Rose Green to get his meat.

Order, order

 The day started very bright, but quite cool (about 7C). There was, however, some early excitement when a message came from Ocado to say we hadn't got an delivery tomorrow. Er, yes we have - the Gorse Fox entered the list yesterday. Well, it appears that yesterday's order was scheduled against the 2nd week in October. Panic! While drinking his early morning coffee he was re-filing an order for deliver tomorrow. It only took about 20 minutes but we don't need that sort of excitement over breakfast.

After walking Ellie to school with Urban-Cub, the Gorse Fox changed for football. We had a 5-v-6 game today with none of this tippy-tappy 3-touch nonsense. It was clear that our Orange team was going to be under the cosh and so it turned out. The Gorse Fox was trying to defend and as we had only one attacker of any pedigree, he was also trying to play as a midfielder and a forward. By halftime we were losing 3-1, but the the Gorse Fox scored that single goal. In the second half the opponents scored several more goals, but we could only muster one more ourselves. It was very good exercise, but a disappointing result. At least the Gorse Fox played better than yesterday.

After lunch the Gorse Fox took the Silver Vixen into Chichester so that she could go to the dentist. She was having the final stage of a crown fitted. It was all very quick and pretty painless, apparently. Before going home, we diverted to John Lewis as the Gorse Fox wanted a couple of new pans for the kitchen.

The central heating popped-on during the day. The Gorse Fox has adjusted it so that it only comes on when really cold at the moment. It's good to know that it is all working.

Base Layer

It was bright, dry but cool start to the day. After walking Ellie round to school with Urban-Cub, the Gorse Fox put on an extra layer under hist football shirt and headed off to Worthing for some football. It was the first time he has played on a Tuesday for quite a few weeks and it was nice to catch up with the banter. We had a good turnout so we were able to split into 4 teams. The Gorse Fox was assigned to "Green 2" and took to the pitch with the other 5 players. We played well and, though not the strongest team on paper, we passed well and defended well. We won all three of our games, only conceding one goal along the way.

The Silver Vixen had taken the opportunity to go to garden centre while the Gorse Fox was out. She got back soon after the Gorse Fox. By then it was pouring with rain. This had started just as the Gorse Fox left the sports centre but was much lighter there than it was here back home.

The afternoon was spent with our books, with a break for the Silver Vixen to collect Ellie from school. She has managed to gain another sticker today to acknowledge her good writing.

Hospital

 There was a fair bit of rain overnight but, conveniently, it had stopped soon after the Gorse Fox got up. Normally, the Gorse Fox would be entertaining or escorting Ellie in the morning. Today was different. The Silver Vixen had an appointment for a checkup at the hospital, first thing.

We set off for St Richard's, leaving plenty of time to account for any traffic delays. As it happened, we sailed through and were there with time to spare. In fact, we had to sit and wait in reception for 20 minutes before they would allow us into the clinic. The checkup didn't take too long and we now have to wait for the report and a consultation with the specialist.

The rest of the day has been fairly quiet, though the Gorse Fox did have a chat with his little sister this afternoon. It was chance to hear about their holiday and catch up on family news in general.

Another Win

It was a lovely start to the day. No cloud dared to sully the clear blue skies. It was cool, but not cold. The perfect start to an autumn day. The Gorse Fox was up soon after 7:15 and grabbed a coffee while reading the paper and check social media. The Silver Vixen drifted down just before 8:00.

Being Sunday, the Gorse Fox had football. Today was a 5-v-6 game and the Gorse Fox ensured he was on the team with 5 players. It was, actually, a very close game. The difference between the sides was goalkeepers (who did a great job) and strikers who could, or couldn't quite hit the target. The Gorse Fox, playing in yellow, was on the team of 5 and managed to score a couple of goals in the first half. At halftime, we were 4-3 ahead. We were, however, flagging as we were having to do so much more work. In the second half, we switched our goalie. The Gorse Fox score a couple more goals and we eased further ahead. In the end, we won 9-6. Very satisfying.

The afternoon has been spent in the Orangery with our books. The Gorse Fox managed to finish another and start the 12th in a series before retiring to kitchen to cook dinner.

A quiet day

 The Gorse Fox was up soon after 07:00. He snuck into to the kitchen, let Jasper out, and made a coffee, The Silver Vixen emerged a while later. A cup of tea was freshly made and waiting for her as she walked into the kitchen. It was the perfect start to the day.

The Gorse Fox had his traditional "cousins' call" at 9:00. This was fun as the Gorse Fox described some of the finer points of living with domestic staff.

Once the call was over the Gorse Fox wandered up to the mobile butcher's van. He queued and watched as the people in from of hime spent 100's of pounds on huge selections of beef, pork, and lamb. The Gorse Fox was after some beef short ribs. They didn't have any nut made a note of the request so that they would carry some for next week.

Once home, the rest of the day was fairly quiet with a few odd jobs in the garden and some reading in the Orangery.

Wet Start

As forecast, the day started with a lot of rain. After the requisite coffees and some time reviewing the news, the Gorse Fox wandered round (protected by waterproof jacket and umbrella) to meet up with Urban-Cub and take Ellie to school.

Once back home, the morning was spent with some admin while the Silver Vixen swapped her summer and winter wardrobes. The Gorse Fox only has a single wardrobe. No action required. Having said that, he did wear a brushed cotton shirt today (for the first time in ages). As soon as he walked through the door, Ellie said "Grandpa, why are you wearing a shirt?" Her fashion antennae are clearly working at full intensity.

This afternoon, the Gorse Fox had to take Old Bill and Lady Penelope round to the doctors for his latest appointment. The Gorse Fox stayed in the car and finished yet another book and started another new one while waiting. 

Little Feet

Ellie had stayed with us overnight. At 6:30 (when the light on her clock changed colour) she padded into our room and asked if she could have her iPad and where it was. The Gorse Fox got up and retrieved the iPad from its charger in the study and Ellie returned to her room while the Gorse Fox went back to bed for 30 minutes. When we did get up we had to call Cousteau-Cub to wish her a happy birthday. By doing this first thing we caught her before work, and made sure that Ellie had a chance to get involved.

Once the morning protocol was ticked off, we took Ellie to school and wandered back home. The Gorse Fox had received a phone call which cancelled his 10:00 appointment at the chiropodist. His little feet would have to wait for a cancellation or late November (whichever came first). This meant that Tuesday would follow a fairly common pattern with Ocado delivering the bulk of the weekly shopping then a top-up trip to Sainsbury's.  Lady Penelope came to Sainsbury's with us as Old Bill is still several weeks away from driving.

When we goy home we goy caught up in a chat with several neighbours outside the house. Finally, we got to put the shopping away and grab a bite to eat. The afternoon was spent with our books.

The Gorse Fox prepared a Tuscan Chicken recipe for dinner this evening. This is is a Mary Berry recipe that he had seen featured on the TV last week. He can confirm that not only was it easy to make, it was absolutely delicious to eat. 

Normality

 There was a degree of normality today as Urban-Cub dropped off Ellie before 7:30. We went through the pre-school protocol - breakfast, wash, teeth, dress, gather stuff together, then walk off to school.

Once back, we did the car dance and the Gorse Fox headed off to football. Meanwhile the Silver Vixen was meeting Pauline in Arundel for coffee and a snack.

Football was good fun. The Gorse Fox played for the yellow team and, though a man short, we played well and passed well. At halftime we were 3-2 down. The second half was hard, but we clawed our way back and the game finished with a creditable 5-5.

Once home, showered and hiding a bacon sandwich in his tummy, the Gorse Fox walked round to the village to get his hair cut. He has a loyalty card... it was full, so today's cut was free of charge. Once home, the Gorse Fox received a phone call from his old school. The Over-65s lunch has been cancelled. The Gorse Fox suggested they needed to let everyone, on the Newsletter distribution list, know. One gets the feeling that the new regime is having trouble bedding in!

We collected Ellie from school and stopped off at the park so that she could let off steam. She's now finished her her reading, had her dinner, and is having her evening wash before bed.

Ooops

 The Gorse Fox was conscious that there is meant to be an Over-65s lunch at his old school. This is scheduled for 5th October. The problem is that there is nothing appearing on the Alumni calendar and there has been no announcement regarding booking attendance. The Gorse Fox took it on himself to phone the Alumni Office. The young lady who answered the phone has only been in post for a couple of weeks. Her boss is off sick. She knew nothing about this and there's nothing in her book. A tone of panic crept in to her voice. "I'll have to speak to Headmaster" she said. The Gorse Fox considered this. The Headmaster is also new in post - chances are he knows nothing about it either! The Gorse Fox sent her the last Newsletter where the event had been advertised.

We will wait and see what happens... but he suspects the 5th October is a non-starter (and as there is a train strike that day, he isn't too concerned).

Out

 It was another bright morning. Cool, but bright and it promised to warm up. The Gorse Fox wandered round the corner to escort Ellie to school with Urban-Cub. She was still a little overwhelmed by the State Funeral, yesterday but was processing it.

Back home the Gorse Fox loaded himself with caffeine and then went into Chichester with the Silver Vixen. We didn't have a lot to get but it was turning into a lovely day and it was nice to get out and about. 

After the shopping was done we strolled along to the Bishop's Palace gardens, by the Cathedral. We found a bench in the sun and just sat there together, in peace, watching the world go by. It is moments like this that fill the heart and enrich the soul.

Eventually, we had to leave. It was time for lunch. We had booked a table at Cote Brasserie, just across the road from the entrance to the gardens.

We were, just about, the first customers for the lunch sitting. We settled down with a coffee and examined what was on offer. The Silver Vixen started with some smoked salmon and the Gorse Fox started with a crab terrine. Both were served with crusty bread and were delicious. For the main course, we had both chosen Beef Cheeks Bourguignon. This proved to be an inspired choice as it was rich and unctuous and full of wonderful flavour.

We lingered over lunch then made our way back to car and home. We spent the early part of the afternoon with our books, then the Silver Vixen went to collect Ellie with Urban-Cub. The rest of the afternoon has been focussed on the weekly shopping list!

Twitter

 The Gorse Fox made the mistake of dipping his toe into the sewer that is Twitter today. Whilst there were many patriotic entries, there too were entries that made you embarrassed to be part of the same species as the authors. The vitriol and hate from the far left was a lesson that should keep the socialists out of power for several more generations. 

The Gorse Fox actually feels desperately sorry for people like these who harbour so much hatred, envy, ignorance, and negativity in their lives. What a miserable existence it must be, existing on the left wing of politics. Today's experience has taught the Gorse Fox (yet again) that it is nothing about helping the poor and deprived. It all about hate and destruction of the well off.

Elizabeth the Great

Today was a sombre day. After the death of our Sovereign, Elizabeth II we, as a Country, would finally be laying her to rest. It was public holiday so that people could pay their respects.

It was noticeable that, as the Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen watched the proceedings on the TV, no cars passed by the house, nobody walked by, and at the back of the house there was absolute silence. Our neighbourhood was clearly paying respects to the passing of our Queen.

We spent the whole day glued to the proceedings on the TV. It was a spectacle like no other in our lifetime. With Heads of State and Dignitaries from all over the World it was clear that Her Majesty, though our Queen, was respected and loved across the planet. She was not Our Queen, she was THE Queen, or as Boris Johnson said, she was "Elizabeth the Great".

WiFi

It was another lovely Autumn day. The sun shone, clouds scudded across the firmament and all was well in Sussex. The Gorse Fox had to choose the teams for this morning's football, but with the help of some code he cam up with a fairly balanced squad.

The Silver Vixen spent a chink of the morning on the phone with Cousteau-Cub, which was lovely. She has a birthday coming up this week and is in throws of leaving one job and starting another.

The Gorse Fox went to football. This was a 5-v-6 game where he played for the yellow team of 5. By halftime we were 4-2 down, but the Gorse Fox had scored both of our goals. In the second half the balance changed as we swapped goalies and our other "premier" player was now on the pitch rather than standing between the sticks.  We soon caught up and went into the lead. The problem was that we were still outnumbered and began to tire. The Gorse Fox scored a couple more goals (making it four for the match) but we ended up with a score of 10-10.

Once back home the Gorse Fox contacted the Urban-Cub. We had to finish sorting out the new printer. After some thought overnight he concluded the printer was not correctly connected to the WiFi network. He started again. This time the arcane spell and sacrifice of several bats and a fatted calf seemed to do the trick. When he left the the printer was working on all required devices.

(Talking of overnight, the Gorse Fox dreamed for some obscure reason that he was running from Oakwood to Cockfosters with Rita Chakrabati, the Newsreader, and explaining that he used to do this a lot as a teenager - Bizarre!!!)

Printers

 The day started without major incident. The night had been cool but sun was up and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Usually, the Gorse Fox has a call with his cousins on Saturday mornings, but this week he had an appointment at the Doctors' Surgery. It is Flu Jab time. He hand the Silver Vixen drove round to the surgery and were shown in to be jabbed. The Gorse Fox pointed out that he was no eligible (on the basis of age) to receive his shingles jab. They decided to handle it there and then. Some 5 minute later he left with punctures in each arm and an assurance that he he done what was necessary in terms of flu and shingles protection.

Soon after we got back, Urban-Cub sent a message to request help in accessing the printer from Ellie's laptop. The Gorse Fox wandered round and after fiddling about for ages, decided this was a case of replacement (after all the printer was a relic from our days in Kingston Gorse and we left there 9 or 10 years ago). Urban-Cub ordered a replacement for delivery later today.

The Gorse Fox wandered home and spent a few hours finishing the latest book by Richard Osman (very good, by the way). Just as he finished and poured a beer the phone rang. It was Urban-Cub announcing that the new printer had arrived... and could he help set it up. He, and the Silver Vixen, strolled round. An hour later the printer was still sitting there blinking but not connecting to the various tablets and printers. The Gorse Fox gave up. He was out of ideas. He would return tomorrow with a proper laptop (as opposed to tablet) in hand and have another go.

Why is it that the most useful feature of computing - printers - is the most problematic, and always has been. 

Queues

It is both humbling and heartening to see the vast queues of our countrymen and women queueing to file past the catafalque bearing the coffin of Her Majesty the Queen.  It is good to know that there is still such love and appreciation for our Monarchy in this cynical time. 

The day started bright but a little cool. The Gorse Fox went round to Urban-Cub and found that Cousteau-Cub had stopped in, on her way to work. It was nice to catch up and it gave the Gorse Fox a chance to ask what she wanted for her imminent Birthday. She had to get off to work and soon after the Gorse Fox (and Urban-Cub) escorted Ellie to school then returned home for coffee and breakfast. The morning was spent with chores and admin. The Gorse Fox does have some debugging to complete on a program, but couldn't switch into the correct frame of mind to deal with that.

At lunchtime he took Old Bill back to surgery, then sat and waited in the car and finished another book (book 8 in a series of 26). He downloaded the lates Richard Osman book and started that... he's hooked already. Old Bill had a slight infection so some antibiotics were needed. He took Lady Penelope back to the pharmacy later in the afternoon to collect the pills.

All Clear

 The day started much as usual. The Gorse Fox was up and about soon after 7:00 and the Silver Vixen came down a bit later. It was dry and mild. The Gorse Fox wandered round to escort Ellie and Urban-Cub to school. It was interesting to hear that she is starting to look for a new job. The stress of working with the staff he has inherited at Lidl is beginning to get to her. We''l see how things progress.

The Gorse Fox had to take the Skoda in to the dealer. It is approaching its first MOT and the end of its Warranty period. The dealer had offered a free pre-MOT inspection and and any Warranty work. The Gorse Fox didn't have any concerns regarding the MOT but he was mightily frustrated by the keyless-entry system which seemed to randomly lock the car when not wanted and failed to identify the key fob on hundreds of occasions. There was no escape for the dealer, the Gorse Fox had found a TPI (technical instruction) that identified the problem. 

The Gorse Fox also had an appointment with one the salesman at the Dealer. "If we were to change you car early, what would be the 'must haves'?" he asked. The Gorse Fox went through the list. The dealer started to configure the new car. Then he came to the interior spec. The Gorse Fox said that a cream interior was mandatory. A buzzer seemed to go off in the salesman's mind. Panic set in. Skoda no longer offer a cream interior. The Gorse Fox said it was mandatory. The Gorse Fox was told that his best bet was to stick with the current car... which he had already concluded. Having said that, there is still a year to run on the current deal so things may change.

At lunchtime the dealer called. The pre-MOT check was all clear (as expected). In addition, the dealer replaced the whole sensor unit for the keyless entry... and hopefully all will now be well! The Gorse Fox headed for the bus to go and collect the car. As is the nature of things, he saw a bus sail past just as he was getting to end of the road. Then he checked the time table for the next bus (because they run every 10 minutes) and found that he had a 20 minute wait. Well, that was all very fine until he found his expected bus had been cancelled. In the end, he had a 35 minutes to wait before he could head into Chichester Bus Station and then walk to Skoda dealer.

The afternoon was spent with a book in the Orangery.

Car Sharing

 It was a very wet morning. The Gorse Fox, Urban-Cub and Ellie all had to shelter beneath our umbrellas on the way to school. There was no sign of it letting up during the morning. We were in for lot more rain.

The Silver Vixen had Pilates and the Gorse Fox had his usual football. We decided to car-share. as a rule we go separately as we start at slightly different times and the Silver Vixen likes to stay on for coffee and a chat at the end. The start time isn't a problem for the Gorse Fox as he can drop her and still get to the game in time. We tried it last week, quite successfully - and decided to stick with it.

Football was pretty good, despite the incessant rain. The Gorse Fox managed to score the opening goal, then later score a penalty. We enjoyed a "proper" game today. There was none of this 3-touch nonsense. The Gorse Fox doubled his caloric burn rate and covered significantly more ground than usual. We did, however, have a serial moaner return after injury and that rather took the edge off the game. The Gorse Fox thinks the final score was 8-6 to the other team... 

The Gorse Fox picked the Silver Vixen up on his way back and we had a quiet lunch. The Silver Vixen watched the procession of the Queen's coffin to Westminster Hall while the Gorse Fox read. Then she, (the Silver Vixen, not the Queen) went to collect Ellie from school and the Gorse Fox went to take Old Bill to the local surgery to have his staples removed. He is still looking very frail, and the discomfort of the procedure kept him very quiet on the way home.

Gnashers

It was a wet start to the morning, but it was very mild. An umbrella was needed when walking Ellie to school, but no jacket was required.

We had to head in to Chichester. The Silver Vixen had an appointment at the dentist and a 50 minute slot had been allocated. The Gorse Fox sat and waited in the car and was pleasantly surprised when the appointment only took 20 minutes. The Silver Vixen's mouth was a bit numb, but other than that she was fine. Let's just hope that there is no discomfort when the anaesthetic wears off.

We spent a quiet afternoon reading (except when the Silver Vixen went to collect Ellie). The Gorse Fox used the time to install the latest IOS 16 on his phone a IOS 15.7 on his iPad.