Poor NY. It is terrible to think of it in that condition.

On the other hand, it sounds as if both federal and state authorities did a rather brilliant job of preparation. It makes Bush’s total dereliction of duty in the case of New Orleans all the more outrageous. I hope the clean-up and reconstruction will go forward with the same energy and attention to detail. It won’t be easy.

My sister and her husband had a Mandatory Evacuation order which some of their neighbours ignored. They spent the night with friends and are now back home, no significant damage, I gather, but also no electricity. They live on low, flat land not all that far from the CT River and Long Island Sound. I wonder how Old Saybrook itself fared which is virtually a peninsula.

Theo says he and Jenni are fine in DC, with all the electricity they need.

I wish the storm had had a proper name -- Alexander or Alexandra or Alessandro or whatever -- instead of a nickname.

Knitting

I was heartened by your negative comment on the Wingspan, Lou. It’s not working for me. I’m nearly finished with the 6^th triangle – near enough the end that I can grit my teeth and see it out.

I went to John Lewis yesterday and had a quick look at Cocoon. I’m afraid the terra cotta colour didn’t lift my heart, and it needs lifting. I was sorry, because I have knit two big Cocoon scarves in the dark days of other years, and I love the Cocoon experience.

Today I’ll go to the new, local LYS (Kathy’s Knits) and see what she has in the way of a big, lofty, red yarn. I had a quick look at Ravelry for patterns, without success. Men trying not to look embarrassed in something girly, or men in firm fabric scarves – herringbone stitch, or whatever – very nice but I’m not up to it. My previous two Cocoons were 1) a Rowan pattern from a couple of years back called Traveller or Wanderer and 2) something from Lynn Barr’s “Reversible Knitting” book. I could repeat either of those, or just go for brioche stitch as previously discussed.

Non-knit

I cruised through the computer section of John Lewis on my way to yarn. Sure enough, no MS Surface among the tablets. I was struck with how small computers are getting – desktops were represented only by a few sturdy specimens along the wall. Maybe that is the answer for me – just leave Old Faithful here on my desk. (It has its uses, such as the disk drive and software to get my husband’s work from his DOS-based Old Faithful into the Cloud.) And get myself a super-duper laptop with which I can waltz around the house.

Catriona, thanks for the tips on Cook. I spent some time on their website yesterday (very confidence-inspiring) and have put both your suggestions on my short list. Prices are really very reasonable. They offer roast lamb with vegetables and roast potatoes to serve six for £35. I'll go for that for the Birthday Lunch. That seems to be real roast lamb, in a lump, not pre-sliced.