All well, I think. Helen rang up the care home and told them what help I’ll need to get away and, as you say, they’ve done it before. I figured out how to open a fancy suitcase we brought, so should be able to pack by myself. I’ll need help carrying. I don’t know whether Helen is still testing positive and whether she’ll be allowed in.

That is a good idea, Jenny, about incorporating part of  the care home routine into Drummond Place life.

     (1) Prunes for breakfast 

     (2) A brief exercise routine before breakfast

     (3) lunch at more or less a fixed time, table properly set, no longer just sinking down amidst the sauce bottles in mid-afternoon.

I have been exercising faithfully here, sometimes with an instructor, sometimes not. But I haven’t been walking much. Today I did a circuit of the garden before lunch and found myself breathless. So I did another before supper, and will press on tomorrow. The distance couldn’t be much more than that from my front door to the gate of Drummond Place garden, before circumnavigation even begins.

Knitting went well. I watched the Trooping of the Colour this morning, knitting the while. Goodness, it was wonderful, hundreds of men, dozens of horses, a generous handful of royalty, all perfection. Not a polished boot or burnished hoof put wrong, and timed to the second. The horses had to do several things horses don’t normally do: stand still for an hour and a half, if royalty was riding; carry a pipe band in action. The kettle drums, said to be heavy, and also in use, were carried by Shire horses who had clearly done it often before. At the end — I don’t remember ever having seen this — there was a regimental trot-past. At that point, admittedly, one or two thought that Prince Charles would prefer a canter-past, but they were promptly subdued.

The Queen on the famous balcony looked very old. As indeed she is. We’ve just heard that she’s pulled out of tomorrow’s Service of Thanksgiving.

And by the time all that was over, I had done quite a bit of knitting. My hope is to cast on the first sleeve tomorrow. Shandy, no (comment yesterday) — it’s all got to be done before the yoke starts.

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