Defiantly

The Church of our Lady of the Assumption and the English Martyrs. The Catholic church around the corner may have shut its doors due to the pandemic, but it doesn’t stop the bells from gaily ringing out very regularly. There’s always an 11pm session, and at other times the bell-ringing doesn’t always seem linked to any particular hour or half hour time increment. The Catholic Church likes to keep one on his or her toes.

I was on calls much of the day and I tend to take these upstairs to spare Gugs the tribulations of me booming out. When I emerged around lunchtime she had conjured up a salad with soft boiled eggs, spinach leaves and avocado. I tucked in and it was tasty. Five minutes later she practically had a heart attack because I hadn’t noticed the kefir and lime dressing and drizzled any over my bowl. She was concerned I’d ruined my enjoyment of the food. I schooled her in the art of being a luddite.

People who mistakenly spell definitely as ‘defiantly’ are fairly commonplace. It always makes me think of someone taking an overly-dramatic defiant stance whilst making a point. My evening walk was much needed as the day was stressful. I defiantly walked to some of my usual spots in Cambridge city centre. Around 8pm there is always a man with orange plastic bags and a cup of coffee either on the bridge in the distance or sitting on the wall in front of Kings College. He’s on the bridge in this photo, close to the boarded up pub. I imagine he’s a creature of habit also clocking me as the increasingly dishevelled stroller who passes him most evenings.

Gugs was wonderful in the evening for distracting me from work stresses and plonking us in front of a BBC iplayer series. Complete with a bowl of vanilla ice cream.