Another autumn

I awoke to the sound of persistent rain at 6.49 am. By 7.30 sciatica was making my life a misery, so I got up and went about my day. I'd just about finished all the chores, and the sun had come out, when my friend E and her daughter turned up. We hadn't seen them for over a year, for sad reasons.

Last year, K, who is 21, was booked to look after our dear cat Bomble while we went to Argyll. She was very excited about it. The family had stayed to house sit on previous occasions, but K had been much younger. As it turned out, poor Bomble had to be put down just before our holiday, and K was heartbroken. She couldn't even bear to come and meet our 'new' cat Indie until now.

I have to say, they became friends instantly. Indie curled up like a baby beside her on the sofa, tummy and paws up, while K and E told us about how they had adopted the neighbours' cats. The neighbours don't mind, apparently, and K and E don't have to feed them or pwy vets' bills. Sounds ideal...

After they'd left, the sun was still shining, so I walked down to town and bought a TV guide. Ours has not arrived because there's a postal strike. I bought some chocolate, too, and got a few book festival programmes. When I got home, I found that the TV guide was an old one! Ah well...I retired to bed to watch Acapulco Season two on Apple TV, but Steve was already there, listening to football. His friend phoned to say she was coming round, so they talked business while I did stupid puzzles from a magazine. I offered friend C a coffee cream, but she sneezed while eating and nearly choked on it. How we laughed at the joys of old age!

(I have to explain that cheap and wonderful coffee creams are only available in Iceland from September until Christmas or whenever they run out. We are currently in peak coffee cream season).

This was nearly enough excitement for a lifetime (hardly anyone ever visits our house since CoVid lockdowns) but nonetheless I had dinner, finished the puzzles, watched Acapulco, and even cleaned my work shoes. When did I ever do that before? When I was eight, in 1972, I had to clean my outdoor shoes every single day after school. Now I barely remember how to do it. And what are 'outdoor shoes' anyway? Are they the items of footwear that are not slippers?

The only thing I haven't done today is read any more of the Irish RM, or tidy my desk. Some pleasures need to be anticipated for months on end.