Flat batteries and changes of plan.

Normy and I are up early, about ten to six, as we intend to take the terriers round the Westwood, before taking Louis to the Sports Arena in Hull for ten o'clock. I breakfast on the last of the smoked salmon with cream cheese on rye toast, Norman has Bakers and then we are showered, and dressed for the weather, with a thermal under layer for me and a fur coat for Norman. We leave the house for ten minutes to eight, but then fate intervenes, I must have left the lights on in the Chrysler and the battery is flat. Nothing for it but to call out the AA and then ring Pip to apologise and explain the no show. The AA guy arrives an hour later, a lanky Scotsman, who tells me he used to be in the REME, (Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers), so we swap war stories while he jump starts the car and then I make him a mug of tea and give him a couple of oaties. By ten past nine, we are underway at last, collecting Louis from North Bar Without and ferrying him to the Sports Arena. He tells me as we drive, that his mother has advanced his pocket money and so he wants to call at the supermarket on the way home, in order to buy a football game, what else! We arrive by a quarter to ten, to find a large market on the Walton Street car park, which is used for the KC Stadium and for Hull Fair in the autumn. If I hadn't promised to meet Hanne at the Poppy Seed, I would have liked to have a mooch about. There are lots of little girls in leotards in the sports arena, the British Gymnastic Association has taken over half the hall for a class. My children, Sarah and Andrew, used to be members when they were little, and it brings back fond memories. Louis is delivered to his football class and we drive back to Beverley and park in North Bar Within, less than fifty feet from the Poppy Seed. We are first to arrive, and I order my usual strong tea, while Norman sits on my knee, alert for any donations of scraps of bacon or sausage. Thelma arrives first, shortly followed by the "Great Dane", I relay the news regarding Felicity's progress and then we chat about childhood experiences until it is time to leave, around half past eleven. We have also agreed to see the Royal Opera House's performance of "Alice in Wonderland", which is being telecast to Cineworld at Kingswood tomorrow evening. Normy and I return home for midday, where I eat chilli with all the trimmings for lunch and he has Bakers. The disruption to my plans mean that swimming is not possible this lunchtime, the ladies aqua aerobics have a class and the pool closes at one thirty, so that the staff have time to set up the inflatable castle for the kids half term fun sessions this afternoon. We meditate for an hour and then drive back to the Sports Arena to collect Louis, Becky, who is running the course, hands him over and tells me he has been very good. Louis, has a certificate of attainment, a medal on a ribbon, with a Tiger's logo, but is most excited that three Hull City, first team players, James Chester, David Meylor and Jack Hobbs, the captain, have been to talk to the children and answer questions. On our way back to Beverley we call in first at Tesco in North Hull and buy Louis' football game with his spending money, and then call at Cineworld, where I buy the tickets for the ballet for tomorrow evening. When we return to Sarah's house, I wrap Louis in a warm scarf, hat and coat and we take Norman for a quick walk round Seven Corners Lane. Our local MP, Graham Stuart has a large, modern house round the first corner, he is in hospital at the moment, having skied over a cliff, whilst off piste and is quite severely injured. He is a conservative, but a very effective, hard working, local MP and quite a nice bloke, so I hope he is soon back on his feet. Norman does his duty and we deposit this in a bin and then return to the warmth of the house. Inside Louis wants to assemble his game, which consists of sections of green plastic, which clip together to form a football pitch, with goals and goalkeepers and players. Once it is assembled, I leave him to play and then chat to Alice, who has just uploaded my Swimathon video to YouTube, which she shows me. Looking at myself in swimming shorts, perhaps I could do to lose ten pounds, or maybe even twenty! She promises to email me the link later. We arrive home around six and I open Norman a tin, before making myself a little toast and honey with a pot of tea. Around eight o'clock, I drive to the leisure centre, to see if I can fit in a training session, before the pool closes at nine thirty. Half the pool is taken up by Beverley swimming club and the other four lanes are quite busy as well. One of the lanes has two young guys swimming freestyle laps, and I judge that I should be able to keep up with them and slide into the water and push off. They must be forty years younger than I am, but I find I am able to maintain their pace, if I breath every two strokes, rather than my usual three. After 500m, the young guys leave and I switch to swimming medleys and manage a couple of hundreds, before two teenagers join the lane and start to swim breaststroke, so I have to adjust and pause between repeats and push off as they come into the end of the lane. In this way I can fit in the butterfly and backstroke legs, without risk to the other swimmers and complete another eight repeats in this way. At Nine the swimming club leave and I have a free lane at last and complete my programme. 2,500m but only 1,500m in medleys. I shower and drive home for ten and eat a little more toast and honey, with a glass of milk before turning in around eleven thirty.