You win – and many, many thanks.

My husband’s birthday falls at that particular weekend in November – on the Monday, actually. He will be 87. Rachel and her husband had planned to come up to celebrate it, as they did last year, and would be happy to do that without me if I want to go to Franklin's classes. But it also occurred to me, nudged by your comments yesterday, that we might attempt a last visit to London.

My husband wants to see the bronzes at the RA. I wouldn’t mind seeing them myself. I emailed Rachel, and she phoned in the evening. She is willing to devote the entire weekend to us, meeting the train at King’s Cross on Friday, driving us to the RA on Saturday, and looking after her father – likely to involve another exhibition – on Sunday while I waltz off to Loop. And taking us to the homeward train on Monday.

I began this morning’s computer session with a visit to Loop – but you can’t book the classes on-line! Mercifully, the shop is open this afternoon. I was horrified to see that the classes are limited to seven people. Surely I will be too late? But I might be able to call in a marker from Franklin himself.

Shall we do lunch, Shandy? I am going to try to book both classes. I don’t think I have much to learn about lace, but we are all agreed that we would be happy to sit at Franklin’s feet for three hours learning about k2p2 rib.

I won’t book the train for another month or so (assuming all goes well this afternoon). Both plans can stay open that long. And either plan should allow me to measure a sweater of Ed’s for his forthcoming madelinetosh. Too late for Christmas, but that’s a small point. I can allow myself to order the yarn -- and protect it well from beasties, when it arrives.

Knitting

My new KnitPro circulars turned up yesterday. I got the 24” size (now 60 cm) which EZ recommends for all purposes in the early pages of KwT. That’s shorter than the clumsy metal needle I had been using, and I am sure the work has speeded up, apart from the sheer pleasure of handling it. No more moth trouble yesterday, either.

I’ve knit across the back, and have nearly finished the next turn. The neck piece, which comes next, is short, so I should embark on the second double mitre today.

Looking at yesterday’s picture, I begin to grasp why Glover is so fierce about gauge. The amount I knitted across the back has to be double the width of a mitre. Perhaps I had better pause right here and do some  measuring. And figure out, from the instructions, where the front overlap is meant to come from, for I must soon start knitting buttonholes.

Non-knit

So is this to be Andy Murray’s big moment? Or is he to be forever a bridesmaid? A grand-slam final looms in which he will have an extra day’s rest over his opponent, who will be neither Nadal nor Federer and might not even be Djokovic who is currently doing badly in the first set of his suspended match. So far Mr Murdoch has kept the television to himself, but surely the BBC will have to muscle in on the final.