Sliding back into the old routine.

Wake early at half past six, when I open the curtains, the sun is just rising, crimson behind the pine trees, across the field to the east. Norman is still fast asleep in his bed, when I put the kettle on and start breakfast. The plastic funnel for the coffee filter is nowhere to be found and I realise it must be still at the "hof van ede" in Maarssen. Improvising, I cut the pouring end of a plastic pop bottle in half and use this to hold the filter paper. It is less than ideal, but does the job as long as you don't overload it. Normy and I share a full English breakfast, before I shower, dress and drive to the Westwood where I let Norman off the lead for his walk. He takes longer than usual, probably because there is much more olfactory information to process on the trees and grass, since he was last here a week ago. It is a clear, bright, sunny morning, but there is a cold wind blowing from the Northwest and consequently the swallows are hunting close to the ground. Very soon they will be heading south. On our way round we meet Dianne and her West Highland Terrier, Rocky and she comments on how bright the red hawthorn berries are against the cobalt blue sky. The blackthorn bushes are also heavy with sloes and the horse chestnuts are showing the ravages of conker hunting children. Autumn is nearly upon us! We make our way down Woodlands and Wood Lane into town and arrive at the Poppy Seed cafe for ten twenty. Felicity and her daughter, Melissa are already there, so we sit with them and I order tea, sharing my milk with Norman, who is thirsty after his walk. Melissa's partner, Nick arrives and we venture into the market. Felicity buys some sausages from the farm shop and then we all walk her home. Although it is less than a quarter of a mile, she has to stop and rest on a garden wall. When we get to her house, I ask her how her rollator is, and get a very negative answer. Melissa has tried to show her how to use it, but it's a bit like teaching your wife to drive, and hasn't gone well. Apparently it's difficult pushing it up over the kerb, but when I experiment with it, the solution is easy, if you hold the brakes it pivots easily and lightly. I show Felicity, but she is unlikely to let facts interfere with her opinions, so I don't hold out great hopes. We leave shortly after twelve and make our way back to Tickton, calling in at the supermarket for frozen chips and a bottle of Chardonnay. Once home, I defrost a pork chop and make schnitzel, salad and chips, which we eat in the garden, which is fortunately shielded from the cold wind. After lunch we listen to Hull beat Millwall 4:1 and then mow the lawns and weed the garden. At six o'clock I feed Normy and then take him for a walk down the lane, the little girls fuss and pat him on our way out, which he seems to enjoy, but he completely blanks them on our way back and just wants to get home. It is a beautiful evening, the sun setting over Beverley as we get home, the equinox is next Friday, and the inexorable slide into winter darkness is not far away. I don't feel like reading, so do a puzzle for an hour and then eat some cheddar and oatcakes before turning in around ten. It is nice to be home and have Normy back.