Basil to a fault

Wake at ten to seven, Norman is still sleeping, but I kept him awake until eleven. As soon as he hears me put the kettle on and start to make my full English, he trots into the kitchen and I give him his breakfast. After eating I take my coffee into the Garden Room and look at the sun shining across the fields to my East. The hedge that separates my garden from the field has grown by almost two feet and health permitting, I will tackle it after dropping Leslie off this morning. I shower and dress and then take Norman down to the bridge before driving to Saint John's for nine o'clock Mass. I take Louis' swimming costume and towel, the library books from yesterday and all my fruit, as it's verboten on my low sugar diet. Sarah lives a few doors from the church, but no one is up yet, so I will drop it off after Mass. The congregation is a bit thin today and we have an elderly priest acting as, whilst Father Roy is on holiday. His memory is going a bit, and even though he is reading the Mass, he keeps losing his place. Nonetheless he maintains the faith and keeps going. There is no choir today, so no sung Latin, but I am familiar with the hymns and do my best. After the service I drop the things in for Louis, Sarah is cooking a full English for everyone, and I stop and chat for a few minutes. Alice is flying to France from Manchester on Thursday and Sarah wants to spend the day with her on Wednesday before she goes, so I am having Louis during the day and overnight. I don't feel any worse today, so it should be OK. Leslie and I arrive at Caffe Nero for ten fifteen, for a change there are an abundance of pain au raisin, usually they are sold out. Just my luck as they are off the menu for a while! Leslie and I have an enjoyable chat and I suggest we drive to Scarborough next Sunday and take in the orchestral concert in the Spa sun court at eleven. I want to show him the hotels on South Shore and the Spa, as I believe he would benefit from a few days holiday. I can attend Mass on Saturday evening and we can set off for nine. We have been friends for twenty years and I don't mind accompanying him to Scarborough for a short holiday, if he likes the idea. After taking Leslie home, I call at the supermarket for some shopping and arrive in Tickton around noon. It's a lovely day and the sun is shining brightly, so I decide to change my bedding and give my bedroom a thorough airing. I put the dirty linen into wash and take the mattress cover, duvet and pillows out into the garden and hang the former from the line. Then I tackle the hedge, it's a little tricky, as there is only a narrow passageway between my fence and the hedge and that is also seriously overgrown. Reluctantly I resort to the electric shears and spend two hours hacking it into shape. The hedge is also about three feet wide and it's impossible for me to reach the far side unless I use the lawn edge clippers. Consequently it makes it a slow and heavy process. I take a break at two thirty, the clippings are yet to collect, but I am tired and hungry after working in the hot sun. I put up the sun umbrella and eat my Caprese, the olive oil, basil and tomato juices have made an aromatic mixture under the tomatoes and mozarella. Normally I delight in mopping this up with crusty bread, as I work my way through the salad, but bread is off my menu for a while, so I break up some Ryvita and soak that instead. It's not as good as a baguette but it's OK. The Caprese is great, after cooking in the fridge overnight, they purport to sell them at Pizza Express and Ask, but they don't have the time to let them marinate, so they are hardly worthy of the name. After lunch I read the Observer and then take my aired bedding into the bedroom and put on clean covers, sheets and pillowcases, before hanging out the freshly washed load from this morning. Picking up the clippings takes over an hour, they are lying in the narrow gap between the hedge and my fence, making it difficult to work. Eventually it is done and I clear away and then give Normy his dinner. As I do so it starts to spit with rain and so I gather in the washing, which is still a little damp. The shower is brief and soon passes and the sun shines once more, but the garden is in shade now, so I leave drying the washing until tomorrow and take Norman for his evening walk. I am feeling tired but OK, I don't know if it is the effect of the diet, but there is less phlegm today than yesterday. As we approach the bridge, the Farmer's youngest daughter passes us on her chestnut gelding. I don't know what it is about miniature sausage dogs, but girls just love them, men are much less enthusiastic, I guess Normy is hardly a macho male accessory. I don't care, he is an old, greedy, sometimes cantankerous little sod. Perhaps that is why I like him! We get back for seven o'clock, Norman climbs in his bed and I finish my paper and then make a start on the killer sudoku in the review section. Around eight, I eat a quarter of the "Parmigiana", that I made yesterday. It tastes good when it is hot but it tastes even better served cold from the fridge. The Bolognese sauce, basil, mozarella and fried aubergines combine wonderfully. It is a bit fiddley to make, salting and pressing the sliced aubergines, but if you have the time to do it, definitely worth while. After dinner
I find I am yawning and feeling sleepy, so I put my puzzle to one side and write this blog, before going to bed for half past nine. A better day today, the catch up continues.