Sunshine and showers

Wake late at a quarter to nine again, after reading until one last night. Outside it's grey and wet and I make smoked salmon and cream cheese on rye toast for breakfast, because once the packet is opened it has to be eaten quickly. Over coffee in the garden room I plan my day, I have no dog walking or school run duties, so the day is my own. I decide that I will go for a swim, visit the library and potter round town for a bit and have lunch out. Before leaving, I put on half a load of white washing and then make a list of things I need whilst I'm out. I arrive at the leisure centre about eleven and am surprised that there is still plenty of parking, in spite of the folk festival. When I get in the pool the schools are in and I share a double lane with three other swimmers, after waiting for a gap I push off and warm up on 400m freestyle. I have pretty much made up my mind to repeat Wednesday's 2,000m session, I feel better today and am moving better, so it doesn't take quite as long. The front crawl is followed by backstroke, then breaststroke, 4 x 100 IM and a warm down on 200m free followed by 200m backstroke. Next week I will go back to doing equal distance in each stroke, I have been going easy on the fly until I am fully recovered. After showering and changing I walk to the library and return Gaza Vermes on " The Gospel of Jesus the Jew", I also donate four books from charity shops I have acquired, a mixture of AS Byatt, Cormack McCarthy and Ian Rankin. Afterwards I wander through town with of the librarians on her lunch break, but part company in Dyer Lane, as I have decided to eat lunch outside at Perk-u-later, as the sun has come out and it's lovely and warm. By the time I have ordered my salmon fish cakes and salad, the sky has darkened and a thunderstorm is cutting loose. Fortunately there are plenty of tables inside and after I have eaten lunch and read a chapter of my book, over tea, the storm has passed. I call at the supermarket for some more breakfast tea and Splenda but get seduced by a joint of brisket on special offer and then have to buy parsnips and cabbage to go with it. In the end I walk away with a couple of bags of groceries, some more fruit I will need over the weekend and some tinned peaches and yogurt. My car is at the leisure centre, half a mile away, because I'd figured there wouldn't be much to carry. Fortunately I make it back just as it starts to rain and watch an intense cloudburst from the dry safety of my car, before driving home. Back indoors, I pour a glass of milk and take a couple of oaties and watch the downpour from the garden room. Half an hour later the sun is shining strongly again, so I hang out my whites and put a load of coloureds on to wash and then sit in the sun and settle down to read my book. Summer is short lived and in less than half an hour, I am driven back indoors by another thunderstorm, I hang some whites in the bathroom and my undies on the radiator. The weather forecast is unsettled for the rest of the weekend but once the folk festival is over, next week is set to be fine and sunny. I read a John Grisham legal thriller until bedtime, with a break for cheese and gherkin sandwiches around half past eight. There is a Beverley Ramblers 10 mile walk from Scarborough to Filey tomorrow, which I am tempted to do, but the forecast is showery. I will see how I feel in the morning.