9.08.2026

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  Sunday 9th 56F/13C [6.20]  A bright but cloudy start. To what is promised to be wall to wall sunshine. Peaking at 26C/79F. Rather breezy from the south east. Going southerly. I had better water the outside, potted plants. 21C/70F in the room. 14C/57F in the greenhouse.

 Up at 5.50 with cramp in my left calf. Fortunately it soon passed. I start every day with a glass of water now. I didn't used to like the taste but now it seems fine. Not too cold either. As summer heat reaches down to the kilometers of plastic piping.

 

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8.8.2026 30km.

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 Saturday 8th 60F/16C [8.00]  Bright though a bit cloudy. Peaking at 22C/71F. Lighter, westerly winds. 21C/70F in the room. 15C/59F in the greenhouse.

 Up at 7.15 after struggling to sleep last night. 

 Today would have been my wife's 80th birthday. Had she not died of cancer a little over four years ago. 

 I need a ride. Conditions should be fine today. 

 12.30 Back from a 30km ride. It was really quite windy. Regardless of my direction of travel. Fortunately I was feeling fitter than usual.  

 I visited a charity shop and then headed for the quiet, narrow, rural lanes. Where, quite unbelievably, I met about 30 immaculate vintage and veteran cars going the opposite way. Everything you could possibly imagine. Including an original mini and even a perfect Morris Minor. 

 Every one of them had a shine 10 feet deep. I may have missed some of them because I joined their lane from a minor junction. Several cars went past as I was climbing a steep hill towards their route. 

 It became sunnier in the afternoon. 

 Dinner was beans on toast. 

 

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7.08.2026 More lily leaves.

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   Friday 7th 59F/15C [8.45] Overcast morning. Leading to sunshine and a modest 20C/68F. Windy from the west. Gusting to 13m/s or nearly 30mph. 22C/72F in the room. 16C/61F in the greenhouse.

 Up at 7.45 after a fairly quiet night.   

 Another day wasted online watching videos. Followed by an hour watching rubbish on Netflix.

 Achievements for today? I watered the plants. Indoors and out. Fed the fish. The water lily seems to be producing new leaves. So I haven't killed it from over watering.

  Dinner was a salmon pasty with broccoli. The broccoli was dropped into boiling, salted water for four minutes. Then dumped into a colander. This stops it continuing to cook. Maintaining crispness. Thank you Google. I think I'll give it five minutes next time.  

 

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