Yesterday was more or less summer. Today, perhaps the autumnal equinox – cold, grey, wet, windy.

 

The local news is that Fergus, the youngest of Helen and David’s sons, got the grades he needs to go to Bristol University to read economics. He only got a B in mathematics in his “mock” exam at school. Bristol wanted an A. He was worried about that. But he has been awarded an A – there were no actual exams, of course, just teachers’ assessments and then the Scottish Examinations Board. So all is well.

Except, of course, for the question of what university life will be like. Bristol, apparently, intends to welcome everybody back, in bubbles.

 

Helen came, and we did some local shopping. It was my first experience of mask-wearing. No fun.

 

Daniela came by taxi and put me in order. But that means paying the taxi almost as much as I pay her. There’s no future in that.

 

Knitting went well. I finished off Clue Four last night, and embarked on Clue Five today. It’s a situation such as often occurs in knitting, where a pattern has to be established – in lace, in Fair Isle, in cables – and once that’s done correctly, all you have to do is follow-the-leader.

 

This pattern was awfully easy (and that’s dangerous): knit three, perform one action, knit three, perform the other one. Subsequent pattern rows are identical. I was eager and interested to get it done, purl laboriously back, and find out whether I’d done it right.

 

Sure enough, not. There’s a single point where I’ve done the wrong thing. I’m certainly not going to double back. It’s easier and much safer to repeat the mistake. YO’s and k3tog’s are involved so there may be some footwork necessary to avoid too many stitches.

 

But the end is in sight.