Larry's party

We had a long-standing social engagement with Katharine and Jack at Larry's house today, arranged on the basis that I should normally work part-time Wednesday to Friday. Had we been able to cancel today (due to my pressure of work), I would have done so, but this would have been very impolite at such short notice. Instead I got up at 5:00am to try and fit in a day's work before we set off for Portobello by bike this afternoon. I put in the hours, but this didn't really make much difference to my workload backlog, unfortunately.

I also lost time over a telephone chat with a GP this morning followed by an in-person appointment at the surgery in Stockbridge. I have been suffering bad tinnitus for about a week combined with dizzy spells and slight nausea, and I feared that I had contracted Ménière's disease. It turns out that I have not. I did discover, however, that I have very clean ears, and that my blood pressure is lovely/beautiful/perfect. The root of my symptoms is probably a viral infection. They will eventually disappear.

My  blip is of Mr hazelh and Larry in Larry's back garden towards the end of our Champagne* and strawberry cake afternoon 'tea' party. Larry is Mr hazelh's former boss, and one of our oldest friends in Edinburgh. We have known him for 31 years.

*The Champagne was from a supply that, like me with my TBay cousins, should have gone to Ascot last year. How wonderful that I should come across it in a back garden in Porty instead.

Exercise today: walk to the doctors (8,835 steps); 10 mile cycle ride.