The coldest day of the winter! Again

The alarm goes off at five thirty, outside it is just getting light, Normy snores on in his bed, so I make my way to the kitchen and make coffee and smoked salmon with Philadelphia cheese on rye toast, for breakfast. Norman saunters in, just as I sit down to eat, so I pour him some Bakers into his bowl. The radio says heavy snow is forecast for the south and west and will work its way to us by this evening. Today is a swim day, so I don't bother to shower and just shave and clean my teeth, before driving to Sarah's house down North Bar, Louis opens the door to me enthusiastically, Sarah, Alice and Clement are all in various stages of dressing for the funeral and I warn them to dress warmly, as the bitterly cold east wind is blowing a gale outside. They leave at a quarter past seven and when I ask Louis if he has had breakfast, he asks for a full English, so I put the skillet on the stove and cook him some bacon and eggs with baked beans and toast, there are no sausages in the fridge. After breakfast, I wash the pots and discover four cereal bowls in the sink, and when I ask Louis if he had cereal, be confesses he did, but was still hungry. It is a long time from half past six until twelve on a cold day, so I don't mind cooking an extra breakfast. He wants a bath, so I run him one and then shampoo and condition his hair and as I dry him, find rough skin on the back of his arms, so give him a coat of baby lotion, to make him "extra lovely". Today is the last day of term for him and he tells me he has to report to Saint Mary's Church for an Easter service at nine o'clock, so after dressing him, we take Norman for a quick spin down Seven Corners Lane and then we deliver Louis to the church. I have forgotten to bring my keys for Two Riggs, so drive back to Tickton to collect them and then pick up Dolly and Teddy and head for the Westwood. It is not too bad in the woods, but once we are in the open, on the common, it is bitterly cold, the thermometer on the car said one degree, but the windchill has knocked that down by a good ten degrees. I can't recall a colder day this winter and we are grateful to regain the shelter of the car. I say goodbye to the terriers until Monday and then drive to Morrison's, where I fill up with diesel and then do a little shopping, the usual stuff, bread, milk, fruit, salad and a huge Sicilian aubergine. I also replace the olive oil I dropped on the drive on Tuesday evening and buy some sheets of lasagna and a packet of frozen fish fingers and Black Forest fruits, as well as a Medeira cake to take to Felicity, as I know she loves them. We find the last parking space down Albert terrace and only by parking with the nose of the Chrysler a paint coat's thickness from the car in front, am I able to avoid overhanging the double yellow lines. The way my luck is running this month, I am taking no chances! Norman and I brave the wind and walk the fifty yards or so to Felicity's house, where I knock on the door and walk in, as usual, only to be met by her daughter Melissa, who tells me her mum is being examined by the doctor and asks me to call back. I tell her I am going for a swim and she says she will text me later, so I give her the Madeira cake and return to the car and drive to the leisure centre. I leave Normy asleep on the back seat and arrive in the pool at five minutes to twelve, it is quite busy, but one of the attendants tells me that a class of schoolchildren will be leaving at midday, so I sit on the lane end until it is clear. The session is the same as Monday, 5 x 400m in 100m individual medleys, followed by a 2 x 100m warm down on freestyle and back stroke. I still feel tired on the last set, but notice that my times have reduced by almost half a minute for each 400m. A good sign. After changing I return to the car and see I have a missed call and a voice mail, they are from Felicity's sister, Joy, informing me that her sister has gone into Molescroft Court for respite. It is a sensible thing to do, particularly if she can work on her mobility in there, I have almost a sense of déjà vu after my experience with Leslie, but I hope my foreboding is misplaced. Before leaving this morning, I set the Bolognese sauce in the slow cooker on low, and when we get in, I boil a kettle and then cook some spaghetti for ten minutes in a pan, before sprinkling it with black pepper and tossing it in a little butter, and serving it with the sauce and a generous helping of Parmesan. Norman has his in his little bowl, but he is a messy eater of pasta and there are soon strands of spaghetti strewn all over the kitchen floor. I am not concerned, because I know that once he has finished his bowl, he will recover every last bit of spillage. In any case, running the mop over the parquet flooring is only the work of a moment. The Quorn mince, has been utterly transformed over two days by the slow cooker and the Bolognaise is almost indistinguishable from that made with beef and pork. Well perhaps I exaggerate a tad, but after a morning in the cold and a strenuous swim, it certainly hits the spot. There is enough sauce left for either a chilli, with the addition of red kidney beans, or a Parmagianna, once I have prepared the Aubergine, or I could stuff some Cannelloni, or make a Lasagne. Choices, choices! After dinner, we have a lie down for an hour and then get ready to collect Louis from Hector's, but Clement phones to say that he and Sarah have picked him up early, so I am stood down. Outside, the wind howls around the building and at five I make a little rye toast with butter and honey, with a pot of tea. The news is still dominated by the banking crisis in Cyprus, I think if I were a Cypriot MP, I would have to think carefully about sequestrating Russian money in the banks, a lot of it is crime related and there must be a serious risk of getting whacked by the Russian Mafia, if you touch their loot without a sit down with Vladimir Putin first. The problem with cuddling up to the Russians, is that they don't cuddle you back, you tend to end up in a bear hug! Later I read a little Philip Roth and then turn in around half past ten. The snow hasn't arrived yet.