Friday and I get up to a small breakfast and a list of chores to do before the arrival of my youngest daughter and her partner later today. I get a load of washing in and draw up a shopping list. However before I can go shopping I prepare a meal for the evening and pop it in the Crockpot. I drive to our local Sainsburys and gathered up goodies to celebrate a birthday. On the way home I fill the car and check my tyres in readiness for going to York on Monday.

Once home I stow the food and have a light lunch while doing the crosswords in todays paper. I then set out to empty bins, hoover around the house and generally clear the house before my daughter arrives. I take a moment to check the hedgehog canteen and replenish the dishes, no time to check the garden camera, perhaps tomorrow. My spoons are running out but I am nagged by the need to at least do some sort of training today. I change into my kit and go to the garage to row for half an hour. Its a few days since I’ve rowed and it took a while to get myself going but in the end it turns out a reasonable session.

So after a few minutes rest I change and wait for my daughter to arrive, which they do almost immediately. So for the first time in a while the family eat a meal together around the table. The family chat and I leave them to it to watch the Wales v France rugby game. A good game. The family drift off to bed at the end of the match and I sit and draft the blog. So this is the domestic life, thrilling in a whole new way.