A week is a long time in politics, in knitting, in life.

My husband is in the Western Infirmary with a chest infection. He has a chronic lung condition, pulmonary fibrosis; an infection on top of that is not good news. He subsided last Thursday, even feebler than usual, lacking in appetite. By Friday morning he was clearly in need of help. I phoned the GP. A member of the practice (not known to us, but efficient and wonderful, rather like Hellie Ogden, this year's bride) came promptly and referred him equally promptly to hospital.

Where he is making progress. But this is the fourth day on which he has been totally immobile. Getting up and on his feet again is going to be tough. A dr told him yesterday that he would be there for about a week. They told me “a few days”, and promised conversations about physiotherapy before they released him.

Clearly life is about to lurch downwards again.

Our dear friend G. emailed me last night about getting a proxy vote for my husband (=General Election on Thursday, easy to overlook). I thought it was too late, but I've google'd it and she's right, you can get an Emergency Proxy Vote right up until late on polling day, somehow or other. I've emailed them. I'll phone if they don't respond promptly. The proxy has to be a registered voter, so it'll have to be G. and not, alas, me.

G. and I agree on how the vote should be cast, namely for our excellent constituency MP, Mark Lasarowicz (Labour). It remains to be seen whether my husband can be persuaded to agree. He has never voted Labour in his life, nor would I have ever previously recommended it, but this is an extraordinary election.

Alexander says that he has never voted for a serious party in his life – I would suspect that the Monster Raving Loonies might appeal to him. But this time he will bite the bullet and vote Lib Dem in Argyll.

The point being, to vote against the SNP. There you are: I have nailed my colours to the mast.

An odd thing about this election – there is no sign of it in the streets around us here in Edinburgh, no posters in anybody's windows. For the Referendum, “Yes's” and “No's” were everywhere. For previous general elections, there was always a fair amount, including notices on the lampposts. Now, nothing. In the country last weekend – goodness, was it only last weekend? – we saw quite a bit of SNP.

As for knitting, I finished the 4^th pocket square while we were in a&e at the Western on Friday, and made some progress with the 5^th. I have done no knitting since, nor much of anything else.