Friday and after a good nights sleep I take my vitals and get myself up and into my training gear. I am at my best when I train in the morning. So I take my morning meds and head for the garage and the rower. I strap in and get my ear buds in and tune into Ian Hislop’s radio series where he explores the origins of humour. I set the the session for an hour, so with Ian exploring Chaucerian humour in my ears I start out on my row. An hour later I am mildly enlightened about the history of humour and achieved 11+k and burnt off 700+ calories. So I am pleased with how this has gone.

I record my session in my journal and then as I am about to think about a late breakfast the garden guy arrives, so I make him coffee and hand him some matches and fire lighters and set him burning a lot of the wood that is laying around. He seems to be very happy about the chance to set things alight. I take my partner off for lunch hoping that the garden guy does not over do the bon fire fun.

We eat lunch at our favourite garden centre and discuss the plans for Christmas and I start my own wish list. on returning home I go and get a paper and then spend a while doing todays crosswords. With the daily challenge out of the way I sneak a quick dip into my two new books gifted to me by my friend yesterday. I am really intrigued by Tom Hanks short stories and the first few pages reinforce my impression.

Before I know it its time to cook the evening meal. I have defrosted the chicken thighs and get to work on a Nadya Hussain curry recipe. It all goes to recipe and by 6 o’clock the family are tucking into the dish. It all gets eaten so I assume it was acceptable. Amazon delivers and my latest poetry collection arrives. Its that moment when the physical reality of a book drops into your hands and there is a sense of both relief and tremulousness. This is me done for the year. There will be no more from me until later next year but I will be putting more being read on my Proat8kancerman YouTube channel, so if you want to hear me read one or two then that’s the place to go over the next few days.

Before the evening rugby game gets started I draft the blog and then settle in for a relaxed Friday evening. It all goes to plan and I end the evening taking my meds, clearing the the wreckage I had created in the kitchen and going to bed. I’m feeling lucky, so many people in the news and around are going down with cancer, I am beginning to think I am leading a charmed life. It makes me want to fight harder, there is something more to come, but I am not sure what it is yet. Life continues to be a mystery.