Friday,seems so long ago. I recall spending time writing letters in the Shed and watching the squirrels scamper around in the fallen leaves preparing for winter. I spend time on the phone talking to friends and catching up with them. It accentuates how infrequently I still do not get to see them. I still feel constrained by the restrictions of COVID and the limited nature of the work I’m doing. I posted my letters on the way to the GP surgery to get my first ever flu jab. I’ve always refused as I ‘ve never felt the need but for some reason this year I have decided to give it a go. I suppose I have a heightened sense of risk. Any way I get to the GP surgery in my mask and find I am second in the queue behind and elderly couple. It was a very perfunctory process. I am asked my name, told to roll my left sleeve up, sanitise my hands and wait, standing, by the screen before the nurse calls me round. I am asked my name and then still standing I am jabbed. Then she asks me me I have had one before to which I reply that I had declined. At this point I get a Bill and Ben chat about how my arm might ache, I might get a headache but it cannot give me flu! I leave feeling thoroughly patronised. FFS I retired as the clinical director of a hospital.

Back home via the co-op to collect ice creams and wine gums I head for the garage and the rowing machine. I figure that if my arm is going to ache from a jab I will exercise it for an hour on the basis that it will stop my arm from stiffening up. I go at it hard for an hour. I almost set a new Personal Best, almost, just 26 metres short.

My evening is spent watching Leicester Tigers beat Gloucester before watching Jesse Stone followed by and hour of Sarah Millican then bed at 1 o’clock.

Saturday: breakfast, rehang the lounge curtains and head for the garage to mend my broken storage units under my work surface. While I screw in new support blocks I watch the 12:30 football match on my laptop. The wonders of modern technology.

• 

• 

Having sorted the garage work bench its time to clear my office area on the end of the sofa and to shred some documents. I move on to empty and clean the hoover before cleaning around the ground floor, emptying the waste bins as I go. I touch of shopping with my partner found that one of our village shops was closed due to a water leak. We go to the alternative co-op and gather our goodies. An evening meal and then a night of Strictly followed by watching the football highlights that included my team Brentford holding Liverpool to a 3 all draw. I catch up the blog as I watch. I’ve not trained today so tomorrow it will be a trip to the gym to swim.