Normal service resumed.

We wake before the alarm, at a quarter past six, outside it is already light and after letting Norman into the garden, I make coffee and breakfast. Smoked salmon on cream cheese and rye toast for me and Bakers dog food for Normy. After breakfast I check out flights to Paderborn/Lippstadt, the most convenient airport for direct flights, is London City, and a return fare can be had for about £140, if booked well ahead. To that has to be added the cost of rail fares to London and back, but the whole thing could be done for £200, plus about the same again for accommodation. We leave the house at a quarter past eight and drive to Sarah's house, where Louis lets us in, Alice remains in her bedroom and Louis still needs dressing, which takes the best part of ten minutes. It is only when Louis, Norman and I are walking down the road towards school that I realise that he hasn't been washed. It is too late to return to the house, so he has to make do with a wipe of my handkerchief. Alice and I will have a serious chat about this tomorrow, as I am sure that Sarah asked her to wash Louis before she left for work. Louis is full of tomorrow's football match against Nottingham Forest and the news that his mum has promised to book him on a Tiger's football training course in the Easter Holidays. I give him a hug and a kiss at the school gates and he runs happily towards his class, affixing his red nose for comic relief day. Norman and I retrace our steps, it is much milder today and damper, the wind has swung to the southwest and rain is forecast for mid morning. After collecting Dolly and Teddy, we arrive on the Westwood for about nine fifteen, and make our way round our usual loop, bumping into Tracy, Felicity's dog walker with Molly and Sam, her dogs. She tells me that the old girl had a difficult night, so I ask her to tell Felicity that I will call in after taking the terriers home. The rain starts as we complete the last hundred yards of our walk and return towards the car, but we are hardly damp by the time we are all aboard and on our way back to Cherry Burton. The daffodils are finally out at Two Riggs, and when I deliver the dogs, I can see a mountain of gardening work to be undertaken on the first fine day. We are able to park along Albert Terrace, a few doors down from Felicity's house, and she is still in her flanellette nightie and a cardigan, when we arrive. She tells me she has been up most of the night, sitting on the toilet, bedevilled by constipation, the doctor is coming later this morning and she looks absolutely exhausted. We only stay for ten minutes, as she obviously needs to rest and then we drive to Morrisons, as Norman is out of Bakers and I need bread, kitchen and toilet roll and some more kippers. In the end I opt for smoked mackerel for a change and also buy a bunch of white asparagus, which I intend to eat with pasta again, as I enjoyed it so much last time. We return to Tickton shortly before noon, I give Norman some Bakers and then set off for the leisure centre for a swim. There is a clear lane when I enter the pool, and although I feel a little tired, I decide to warm up with a set of 4 x 100m individual medleys, and then see how I feel after that. The tiredness soon disappears and I feel fine, so swim another four sets of 4 x 100m medleys, with a one minute rest for water between each 400m set and finish off with 2 x 100m on backstroke and freestyle. After the swim I drink tea and order fish fingers, chips and peas in the cafe, and then confirm arrangements for myself and Alice for tomorrow evening with John, the centre manager. I leave around half past two and walk through heavy rain back to the car, from where I phone the Chrysler garage to see if the shock absorber, ordered last week, has finally arrived. It has and they can fit it tomorrow and put it through MOT again, if I can deliver the car to them in Hull for eight thirty in the morning. I have little choice in the matter, as the existing MOT expires on Sunday, it is a good job that I had it initially tested with time to spare. Afterwards I drive into town to collect my dry cleaning and then return home for four thirty. Norman is waiting expectantly for dinner and as soon as I have put my dry cleaning in the wardrobe, I open a tin of gourmet dog food for him and then meditate for an hour. Later I toast a couple of Pitta bread and grill some Haloumi cheese and supplement this with humus and the rest of the dips from Wednesday night that I stored in the fridge, along with some sticks of celery, cucumber and spring onion. Afterwards I read until bedtime and turn in for half past ten, setting the alarm for six O'clock.