In praise of friends and sherpas

Woke at six to a glorious summer morning, the bright sun already high in the sky. My little starlings must have fledged and flown the nest yesterday and I no longer hear them scrambling about under the eaves. Their Mum and Dad will be relieved, they have been constantly ferrying food to the nest for the last two weeks. English breakfast and Italian coffee for me this morning, then peg out a load of whites before washing and putting on my shorts and polo shirt, before driving to Cherry to run Alice and Louis to school. When I return take Dolly and Teddy for their walk on the Westwood. The warm sunshine is such a welcome change, and as we make our way through the buttercup meadow in Newbegin Pits, I realise my sandals and bare toes are covered in golden pollen. We also called by the beech tree in Limekiln Pits, but the baby owlet wasn't there again today, so he must have fledged as well. By way of compensation, the swifts and swallows are here in large numbers, and they dive bombed us as we made our way back to the car. Arrived in Cherry around ten fifteen an then mowed the lawns for Pip and trimmed back the Ivy around the kitchen door. Now that it's warmed up a bit, I will try to do an hour a day at Cherry to put the garden in order. Arrive at the Leisure Centre at half past eleven and find the pool totally empty. The fine weather must be luring people outside. Do my meditatative breathing exercises and then warm up with 400m mixed medley, followed by 4 x 200m fly, back and breast stroke, (I was feeling so good that I went off too fast on the freestyle,) and had to split this into 2 x 100m. Then 4 x 100m IM at pace, and finally the same again, but very easy, as a warm down. As I get fitter and stronger, improvement comes surprisingly in a non-linear fashion, suddenly I seem to find another gear. As I have mentioned before, I have had more comebacks than Rocky Balboa, but this step function in fitness continues to please and surprise me. After swimming, have lunch in the centre's excellent cafe, I have decided to forego my usual tea and scone, in favour of their lunch special. For an extra two or three pounds I can have a well balanced meal, and save having to cook. The weather is too nice to go home so potter around Beverley for an hour or so, and buy some cream, Egyption cotton bed linen.
In a few days I will strip the bed and switch to a summer duvet. Good bed linen is one of my few indulgences. After doing a little shopping, drive home and read Ian Rankin in the garden, sat in the sun, before collecting Louis and Alice, and taking them back to Cherry. On my way home call in to see Felicity and have a cup of tea with her, she is looking really well. The Ausralian care worker, Liz, that she has nicknamed the Sherpa, has made a huge difference to her life. Her house and person are clean and tidy, and she is much more optimistic about her future. Moreover she has made another true friend, and friendship is without price in this increasingly material world.