Monday and I wake up feeling groggy. I get up to coffee and muesli and then begin to organise myself. In a very short time there is a delivery, a new hoover of the traditional style. Henry is good but has not found favour with half the cleaning duo of the house. I was presented the package as fir were a jigsaw, so I duly unpacked it and gave it a test run. It has headlights, but I do not anticipate hoovering in the dark. I leave the new toy and set about clearing the kitchen and preparing to go to the Shed.

I get to the Shed with my laptop and spend time looking at documents sent to me by my nephews wife who is setting up own counselling practice. I beaver away until a friend calls and we exchange thoughts about how having an ill relative can be challenging and make us realise the difficulties of being adequate. We chat for a while before she breaks off to attend a funereal and I return to the documents. I receive messages from a friend who is waging war on dust in her sewing machine and overlocker. It seems the world is cleaning today.

At lunchtime I send the documents to my nephews wife and sit down to a lunch of soup. Then I get ready to go to the gym. I am not sure about it as I am stiff from yesterdays gardening, but I put my gear in the car and drive to the gym. I change and get up on the gym floor. I get a cross trainer and set off. I’m thinking half an hour will do it for the first session after my break. In the end I go for the full hour burning off 704 calories and going 7.36 kilometres. I am surprised I made it and head for the showers. I can feel my body complaining as I go. A quick shower and I drive straight home without stopping for my usual americano.

I walk in home and find my sister is on the phone talking to my partner. I am instantly relieved. I make a coffee and take over the call. We chat for a while, about all sorts of things and identify one or two things that she cannot find after we cleared up. She is on good form and sounds like she is thriving again. I promise to ring tomorrow about replacing the back door glass. Its time for tea and as I eat I begin to draft the blog. My evening will be partly spent preparing for my motorway awareness course tomorrow. Twelve of us zooming on a motorway speeding course, am I the only one to see the irony in this? So as long as the IT holds up I will keep a clean licence. Once my home work is done I think an early night is in order. This is the first day of trying to get my weight down again. Recently my weight has ballooned to the point where I trained in an ice hockey training top that can only be described as voluminous. It’s back to denial of sugar, more fruit and protein. The gym will be my second home and I feel gym spa days coming up. Sometimes after training when there has been a break from the gym I pass blood immediately after but today this did not happen, I am relieved and know that there is more effort to come. Sleep and drugs for me next.