Yesterday: pottering round the Lake District with Fiona looking at birds, very nice. Today: back to the usual routine of a very fresh and pleasant walk around the Durham Woods with Fiona and Clifford, Miles stayed back at home because he has got another cold. I asked him whether the effects of legging it over 3000 foot Helvellyn yesterday had bothered him but he said "No Dad it is just the cold". Today he also got great marks for his latest mathematics mechanics assignment and the tutor is really good because he is not so much addressing the mathematics that Miles does, that is a given (after a ton of hard work I might add) but more the way he presents it which is really good. University academics are just brilliant people. For the most part!

Anyway, there was so little to say about the walk other than the weather was pretty chilly, fresh and there were some nice little mini downpours which only occurred driving there and stopped completely on our walk. Barely a bird to be seen around the River Wear area and the highlight of the centre of Durham was the German Sausage Stall and the tantalising temptations of the smells wafting over us. We had a good laugh today because there was not much else to think about. Fiona is a lot fitter and actually jogged for 100 m which is really good because a month ago she barely made it back sometimes.

Well, I sit here talking away to my netbook, passing the time until I go into "Daddy cook" mode and meatballs, tomato sauce, pasta and garlic bread are rustled up and yet again I buy my passage to another day of acceptance with my family. If it wasn't for my jokes and my cooking they would have got rid of me years ago!