By the way, forgot to mention that I heard the cuckoo on Friday. And again today. The chap who was talking at the time looked a little startled when I exclaimed “cuckoo!” and I had to explain that I was not expressing an opinion about his state of mind.

I asked the Sage what he would like for dinner and gave him a choice of three dishes which I prepared earlier. “They all sound good” he said hopefully. I assured him he will eat them all in due course and he has selected the minestrone soup and cheese scones.

That’s what I’d have chosen too.

Young Daniel is coming to help in the garden tomorrow. Thank goodness. He did sterling work for us last summer when he was supposed to be studying for his GCSEs.