Wake at six thirty, feeling like sleeping another hour or two, but it's a busy day, so get up and open the curtains to another beautiful sunny morning. Quite soon now it will be time to switch to the summer duvet. Make a full English with black coffee and eat it in the garden room whilst listening to the endless Euro crisis. It seems there are no leaders, or statesmen any more, just marketing types listening to focus groups and opinion polls, following the herd, rather than leading the nation. I must really be getting old, I'm beginning to sound like Victor Meldrew!
After running Alice and Louis to school, take the dogs on the Westwood, it's already hot by nine o'clock. The meadow in Newbegin pits is ablaze with buttercups and may flower, it's a day to make your soul sing. We get back for ten fifteen, and I continue working on the garden in Cherry, this morning it's the flower beds at the front of the house. These are on the western side, so partially in shade, even so, it's so warm I strip off my tee shirt. (I'm in my summer gear, shorts and sandals, no socks.) Sat on my tripod stool, I work my way round the beds and fill up two dustbins worth of weeds. No weeding has been done since last autumn and the weeds have had a field day, there is just time to prune the ivy around the windows, before calling it a day and clearing up for one o'clock. Just the bushes to trim tomorrow and that's the front done, the back's not so bad I did that a month ago. Today is supposed to be a run day, because I didn't get out last night with the club because of the lockout, but it's twenty seven degrees today and I have been out in it for four rather enjoyable hours, so opt to swim instead. The pool is quiet when I get there, around half past one, and the fast lane is empty so I slide into the water, which feels refreshingly cool against the slight sunburn on my shoulders. After savouring the peace and stillness for a few minutes, push off to warm up with 4 x 100m easy individual medleys. Initially I feel tired, but gradually loosen up and start to feel better. Follow this with 4 x 200m, on fly, back, breast and freestyle. The pool starts to fill up with a group of large ladies for the aqua aerobics class at two, and I find this out the hard way, or rather the soft way, as I emerge from a tumble turn at the shallow end into someone's apron of fat. Fortunately neither of us is hurt, better cushioning than an air bag! When i stand up I discover that half a dozen of the aqua babes are having a nice chat before their class starts in the fast lane. The class starts and the ladies leave, and after finishing the last few lengths of front crawl, start 4 x 100m IM at speed, but find that I'm swimming into rope as I complete the first 100. My fast lane has been consolidated into the half pool that aqua aerobics requires, and consequently I have to move into a double lane with four other swimmers. No chance of swimming butterfly or backstroke at pace now, but secretly I'm unconcerned, swimming easily is exactly what I feel like anyway, so finish my 2000m medley session and then retire to the cafe for lunch. Today's special is salmon and sweet potato fish cakes, with salad, so I order that, and then drink tea until it arrives. As ever, the food here is great, and afterwards I wander into town for a potter about, calling at Rolando's to book a table for Saturday lunch, as my sister and her husband are coming over for the day. Collect Louis at five thirty from his after school club and drop him at Sarah's, before heading back to Tickton for beef sandwiches and a glass of tempranillo. I feel too tired to do any spring cleaning tonight, so settle down with my book until bed time.
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