A day with my grandsons

Normy and I sleep in until nearly nine o'clock after our late night and then I breakfast on smoked salmon on rye with cream cheese, before taking my coffee into the Garden Room. Norman has Bakers for seniors. The grey weather continues and so does the relentless northeasterly wind, so we are both well wrapped against the cold when we eventually Sally forth to collect Dolly and Teddy from Cherry. It is shortly after eleven when we arrive on Newbald Road and make our way into the woods. A council worker with a mini digger is filling pot holes along the verge, where people usually park, the heavy rain in December and then the snow and frost over the last two months have played havoc. Dolly is let off the lead first today, as I don't want Teddy running across Westwood Road again, in order to extend his freedom. He is always a little stir crazy on a Monday, after a weekend without a good run. Dolly comes back to me without problem and Teddy has a good run around the common until we get to Black Mill, when he too returns as bidden. I have arranged to collect Clement and Louis and take them for lunch later, Sarah has kept Louis from school today, so that he can spend some time with his brother, who he misses greatly now that he is away in University. Today is the first day that I feel back to normal, so the dogs and I celebrate and walk the whole of the common, taking in Burton Bushes, where clumps of narcissi are just starting to show yellow at their tips. Despite the cold wind, spring is very near now. After dropping off the terriers, I call and collect my grandsons from North Bar Within, at around one o'clock. Louis proudly shows me a cardboard model of Wembley stadium, that he and Clement have constructed, telling me that it needs more seats sticking in, but unfortunately they have run out of glue, so we need to shop for another Prit Stick after lunch. We are going to Harper's for a haddock and chips, on their two for a tenner deal, Louis being the odd one out will have a child's portion. In the event, the waitress brings Louis two small portions of haddock, but they add up to more than our larger ones. This is the third time I have eaten here and the food is consistently fresh and well cooked, so it is not surprising when we all clear our plates. The talk over lunch is all about football, Louis is obsessed with the game, and wants us to go to see Hull play with Clement the next time there is an away match on a Saturday in London. Unfortunately there are none left this season. After lunch we walk to WH Smiths to buy the Prit stick, Clement also buys Louis some football cards, rather than the magazine he wants with some football cards attached that costs ten times as much. Clement has unfortunately inherited my tendency to develop mouth ulcers when stressed, he has recently finished exams and has a whopper on his tongue, so we call at Superdrug for some Adcortil gel, which I know through experience, works best. The Pharmacist says that it is now almost impossible to get this and so Clement has to settle for some Ambesol. We part company around three and Norman and I drive back to Tickton. When we arrive, I phone Sam and explain that Louis wants to play with Clement, so we won't be calling round this afternoon. I will pop in to see Laura and Rebecca later in the week and perhaps make fresh pizza with them. After meditating, I start to read a book that Sarah has given me about intermittent fasting, my brother Graham has been doing it for about a year now, with positive results. I tried it for a day and managed it easily enough, but as I don't particularly have a weight problem and swim a lot, I haven't bothered since. The most interesting section of the book, for me at least, reports positive effects on inflammation and arthritis, where I do have growing concerns, so I decide that I will make a start in the morning and see if it helps. Leslie's son in law, William, phones around nine o'clock and reports on his visit to the hospital, the old boy was in good form today apparently and was asking after me. While we are talking, it comes out that William was in signals in the RAF,( I in the Army), and both of us were stationed in Bahrain and the Persian Gulf in the 1960's. We agree to go for a pint some time and compare war stories. Normy has wanted to sit on my knee all night, usually a sign that he is feeling under the weather. We go to bed for eleven, tomorrow I have to take the dogs out early, as I am running Clement back to Doncaster Station and then calling at the Hospital to visit Leslie on my way back home.