Rhythm but no blues.

Another early start and a breakfast of smoked salmon and cream cheese on rye toast and Baker's for Normy. It is a little cloudier today and not quite so warm, but still pleasant enough. After showering and dressing we drive to North Bar to collect Louis for our usual Friday walk to school. Alice has bathed and dressed him and all I need to do is put in his shoes and then we are on our way to Saint Mary's Primary School. Our talk is about death and football, Louis tells me his mum will take him to school when I die, and so I tell him that the time that comes round I hope he will be in University and able to walk himself. Tomorrow is probably the biggest game the Tiger's have ever faced, if they win it will be the first time they have secured automatic promotion to the premier league and will be worth hundreds of millions of pounds to the club and as much again to the local economy, which has never recovered from the decline of its docks and fishing industry fifty years ago. The game is a sell out, Cardiff are bringing thirty five coach loads and many of their fans, sure of promotion as champions, intend to party in the city tomorrow evening. if Hull City beat them and are also promoted it looks to be quite a party. Alternatively if we lose then it is almost certain that we will have to endure the play offs, where the next four clubs play a knockout tournament for the third promotion slot. Which is how we were promoted last time. Unfortunately I will be in Austria if that happens and Richard or Andrew will have to take Louis. He places his order for ciabatta sandwiches with salami and smoked cheese and a bottle of grandad pop for our half time picnic. At the gates he gives me a hug and kisses me goodbye, before running happily into school. Normy and I turn round and walk back towards Sarah's, in Bleach Yard, just past the stables, the blonde neighbour of Sarah's that I walked back with last week, overtakes us pushing her bike. She asks again how old he is and I tell her that he was sixteen a month ago. Her bike has a wicker basket on the front and I ask her if I can test it for size with Norman. It is a perfect fit, so we see how he responds to being pushed along, but he just yawns and sits there contentedly. After removing him, I ask her where she got it and she tells me it was a present from her mum after giving birth and came packed with goodies from Selfridges, but is sure I can find something similar on eBay. When I get back to Sarah's I check and find a supplier nearby, in Hessle and ring to arrange to call in and buy one tomorrow afternoon after the match. The shop is less than a couple of miles from the football stadium. I realise that I have left home without the fluorescent tube for the garage at Two Riggs, so drive back to Tickton to collect it, before proceeding to Cherry Burton to collect Dolly and Teddy, leaving the tube in the hall to fit later. It is cooler on the common today, but there are many more cows, all clustered around Black Mill, there are cow pats everywhere, which is what one would expect but I have never seen a letter in the local papers complaining about this, although complaints about dog poo is a weekly occurrence. Last year when I pointed this out to a rather well to do lady she explained that cow pats are organic, while dog poo is just nasty. To me it is just prejudice against carnivores, notwithstanding this I do pick up treasure whenever it is deposited by my dogs where I can see, although when they are dashing about after rabbits, I can never be sure. Back at Two Riggs, I try to fit the light in the garage, but either I am too inept or the steps aren't high enough, but after half an hour I give in and ask if Andrew can help me. Unfortunately he is in his Friday conference call, and won't be finished for an hour, so I leave the tube in the garage and tell Pip that he and I will have to fit it on Monday. Normy and I then drive to Morrison's to shop for the Bank Holiday weekend. It is packed with pensioners wandering around slowly, so I grab a hand basket and quickly get what I need, bread, kippers, beef tomatoes, butter, ante pasta, smoked cheese, more salad, polish morello cherries in a jar and some yoghurt. On my way to the check out, I remember to buy Haloumi and retrace my steps to the cheese counter and find Greek grilling cheese on special offer, so buy two and then pick up some muffins that are also on offer. We return to Tickton by noon, where I unpack the shopping, before feeding Norman and then heading off for the Leisure Centre. The pool is quiet this lunchtime and I find a free lane and warm up on four easy individual medleys, which feel awkward and stiff at first but by the last one my muscles have loosened off. Today I intend to focus on picking up speed and the way I do this is by focussing on rhythm, which is the best way to maintain pace and stay relaxed. I swim two hundred metres of backstroke, breastroke and freestyle at pace, with a minutes rest between them and then swim four fifty metre butterfly repeats, again with a minutes rest, finishing the pace session with 2 x 200m individual medleys and then warm down with 200m each on slow backstroke and freestyle but still focussing on rhythm. The school children have arrived for their afternoon lessons as I shower and then make my way to the cafe for my pot of tea, which I drink chatting to Danny, the cook, who is on his lunch break. I get back home for three and make lunch, fish fingers and mixed salad served in Ciabatta bread. It is cloudy and cooler outside so I eat in the kitchen and give Normy his tin of dog food for an early dinner. Afterwards, I do some ironing and use some wonder web to shorten some lightweight walking pants that I intend to take to Austria, before settling down to a John Le Carre novel that I have somehow missed. It is called "Our Game", and starts off fairly slowly but quickly picks up pace and the master story teller soon has me hooked. I take a break at eight and then send emails to my brother Graham about my proposed visit in August and then drop a line to my sister Jackie, updating her about the good news regarding my cancer and inviting her to visit. I make some muffins for supper, give Normy a quick toilet break and then turn in around ten.