I had a very bad night last night, due to several factors. Heat, too many thoughts and pain all contributed. As a result, I hovered. Part awake, part asleep, part wondering whether it was all worth it. And, of course, part wondering whether I would get anything done. My inactivity this summer has been stupendous. Comparing what I need to do with what I have actually done I don’t ever remember such a mismatch.

Fortunately, as I said to Julia, we have quite a lot of leeway and though we will move inefficiently it will be inconvenient rather than a disaster. She didn’t seem particularly pleased at the news. In fact she was quite snippy with me. She felt, it seems, that I could have left this news a few hours longer and told her after her alarm had gone off.

As a result of my night spent hovering between sleep and wakefulness, I spent a lot of my day hovering in much the same condition and achieved very little.This is made worse by the fact I am currently reading a biography of Terry Pratchett, who seems to have packed quite a lot into his life. However I do take comfort from one thing _ I am disorganised, but I have never lost, as he did, a royalty cheque for quarter of a million pounds. I can’t imagine that I will ever get a royalty cheque, but if I do, I know it won’t be for that amount of money. Fortunately it will all be done by bank transfer these days – a piece of modern life that I can appreciate.

Tomorrow I hope to be more with it, as I have carrot and ginger soup to make, amongst other things. The catering has gone slightly awry over the last few days and I need to make an urgent cauliflower cheese. Alternatively I can make cauliflower soup, but carrots and ginger with cheese sauce, which will be the companion dish, don’t sound altogether edible.

Cauliflower Steak with vegetables and Nut Cutlets