Steak and chips in the sun.

Wake at six thirty and decide to make pancakes for breakfast, after first letting Norman into the garden. A mug of sifted plain flour, one egg, some LoSalt and a little milk, makes enough batter for four pancakes, which I serve with lemon juice and sweetener. After breakfast I drink my coffee in the Garden Room and have to pull the curtains, as the low, early morning sun, is shining straight into my face. After a shower, Normy and I drive to Cherry Burton for half past nine, collect the terriers and then continue to the Westwood. As we come down York Road, by the racecourse, we are held up temporarily as a small herd of young brown cows meanders across the road. The cows are back outdoors, albeit a little later than usual and in the field enclosed by the race track, a flock of sheep with young lambs are also grazing. It is lovely to see the animals back out on the common and I wonder if the ponies have also been released onto Swinemoor. We park on Newbald Road and proceed into the woods, it is a bright, sunny morning, but the westerly wind persists and it still feels chilly on the common as we walk towards Black Mill. We get back to Two Riggs for ten thirty and I take advantage of the fine weather to make more progress on the gardens, the lawns have started growing at a rapid pace and need mowing again, after which I begin the tedious work of weeding all the flower beds after the long winter. It is not too bad working in the sunshine and by noon it is so warm that I remove my shirt for the first time this year. The feel of the sun on my back and shoulders is very pleasant and helps to ease some of the stiffness that results from yesterday's swimming training. The twenty lengths of butterfly are the main culprit and I will need to repeat yesterday's four sets of five hundred metres medleys, before the Swimathon attempt at five sets on Friday. By half past twelve the bed is finished and I have a bin full of weeds and clippings. Norman is lying on his side in the sun, snoring gently, so I pick him up and carry the old boy back to the car, before driving back to Beverley and calling in at the supermarket for some shopping. The fresh air and exercise has given me an appetite and the special offer of a pound of rump steak at half price, is too good to resist. I had taken a couple of chicken fillets out of the freezer to defrost this morning, but they will keep until tomorrow. We arrive home around one thirty and I fry the steak with some onions, and serve it with a tossed salad and chips in the garden. There are conveniently two pieces of meat, a large one and one that looks Norman size, that I cut into small pieces for him. We both eat happily in the spring sunshine and then I read a book about time, written by the grandson of Evelyn Waugh, I spotted it on the charity bookshelf in the supermarket and bought it because part of it, at least, covers an aspect of science that interests me. At the quantum level, particles and waves are confused and interchangeable, but the shortest possible wavelength, has to be defined by the shortest possible distance, as determined by Max Planck, 10 minus power of 33 cms, a Planck length and the shortest time is the time it takes for light to cover this distance 10 minus power of 43 seconds. From this can be determined the highest possible frequency of energy and matter and from which, all other ranges of energy and electromagnetic radiation are decayed harmonics. It is exceedingly nerdy, but contains two universal constants, the speed of light and the smallest distance, but begs the question of whether space time can be bent at this scale and energy level. Perhaps this is what the guys at the large hadron collider are finding out? After lunch I try to book the safety awareness course that I have been offered by Humberside Police in lieu of a ticket and fine, I am tempted to go to court to contest it, but can't be bothered with the hassle and so decide to stump up the ninety five pounds that they are charging for the course. Every time I attempt to book the course online, I am returned to their login page, so I ring their call centre and am repeatedly told that all their operators are busy and to use the online booking system. In the end I fill out the form in ink and enclose a cheque, as it is the only form of communication that the police seem capable of dealing with, Plods doesn't even come close! After the frustration of this experience, Norman and I have a lie down and sleep until half past five, waking up full of energy and put on a load of washing, before marinating the chicken fillets in chilli, ginger and garlic and then covering them with cling film and storing them in the fridge. At half past eight I drive to the leisure centre, change and make my way to the pool for nine. The East Riding Swim squad have just finished their training session and I find an empty lane in the middle of the pool, which makes for easier swimming as you get less turbulence from the water bouncing off the sides. I swim four sets of 500m again, each set taking 12 minutes and forty five seconds, with a minutes rest for water between sets. It feels a little easier tonight, but unfortunately the pool closes at ten, so I only have time for a couple of lengths warm down. This is probably the last heavy training session I shall do before the Swimathon and three days rest will give my shoulder muscles time to relax and recover before attempting five sets, the hundred lengths, on Friday. I drive home and let Norman out into the garden while I make some drinking chocolate, the moon is just off the full and it is a bright, clear night. I go to bed around eleven thirty, but have to get up again at two to eat something and devour two ciabatta rolls with apricot jam.