This morning, I went to visit our friend Dave East – as I’ve mentioned, he had a major operation last month, but he’s making a very good recovery.  That it was necessary (though sort of elective) has been shown by the fact that he felt better at once, even though he’s had the surgery to recover from and some lifestyle changes to make.

At present, he’s on a cake diet.  Truly.  Well, more or less.  Low protein, high carbohydrate, low fibre.  Forget vegetables, unless they’re potatoes.  So it’s chip butties followed by cake. And actually, he looks great on it.

I came home via the garden centre, so if you noticed the half-planted bed, it’ll be finished in a few days, as long as the wind drops and it doesn’t rain.  I have no intention of being anything but a fair weather gardener.

I’m still eating up leftovers, so it was cheese and oatcakes and I sat in the sunshine in the porch and felt quite cheerful … until I didn’t.  Heartache is a gripping physical pain and it hit me rather badly for quite some time.  It’s beyond the power of positive thinking and one just has to bear it until one can move again.  But in the end, I went and fed the chickens, checked on the tortoises, brought in logs and lit the fire – it was (and is) very windy but not cold, and it was the effect rather than the need that governed me, I lit a candle and made some Lapsang tea and got on with paperwork.  Which took me until nearly 8 o’clock to complete.  I’m still getting emails from governors who never stop working.

I sometimes feel overburdened by work, but if I don’t have anything pressing to do, I have a tendency to do nothing at all, and that is not at all good for me.  I need to be purposeful (this can be in respect of entertainment, I’m not solemn at all) and I don’t want to slip into the way of being lazy, because I get quite low, suddenly.  I suppose I’ll think it through, sooner or later, and find a balance.  I have to get through to the end of July first, though.  And surely summer will be here by then?