Vanishing point

The local canal in the cold end of day sunshine. My second walk of the day, this time to do my democratic duty and also to go to Morrison’s for spinach and soy sauce. I actually forgot the soy sauce but TSM and I came away with two bags of food, most of it store cupboard stuff, and the walk got me up to twelve thousand steps for the day.

My diet app monitors my steps and adds the calories back into my allowance, so the more I walk the more I can eat. If I was being really efficient I would walk and eat at the same time of course, but I’d be sick if I did that. Plus I am trying to eat mindfully and enjoy my food more, which isn’t really possible on the go.

Enjoying Michael Ignatieff’s biography of Isaiah Berlin. Fascinating stuff, particularly when it comes to how an intellectual navigates the paths of ideas and (in Berlin’s case) develops theories of Liberty in the face of tyranny. He was hopelessly out of touch with the common people of course, and found most of the world outside of Oxford to be less than agreeable. But his ideas matter even if you don’t agree with them (and I will know more about that when I’ve read his book of essays, which I ordered today).

Berlin was like a less eccentric version of Orwell really; pro freedom and an outsider by choice and conviction. Liked and disliked across the whole political spectrum too.

Anyway ... very tired today, pretty much from the moment I woke up. Under the circumstance twelve thousand steps was a real achievement.

Good news. Should have a working toilet tomorrow ...