The weather has turned milder. Helen came this morning, and we walked all the way around the garden. The secret is just to keep on going. I think I feel less prostrate than I did a week ago when we last did it,

 

And I’ve knit on. A measurement this morning suggests about 11”. I’m aiming for 12, or 12 ½. Progress. This morning I watched the Andrew Marr show, which was a bit of a disappointment, Newspapers suggest that Johnson’s days as Prime Minister are numbered. Marr made it sound less serious. I wonder what Prime Minister says to Monarch, and she to him, in situations like this. They confer every week.

 

I am reading, although I blush to admit it, Stephen King’s “Salem’s Lot”. Inspired by last week’s conversation with Archie. He’s keen on horror, and very knowledgeable on the subject. He has long since left King behind in favour of Lovecraft and Ligotti. I don’t think I had ever heard of either.

 

I was slightly surprised to find Salem’s Lot on my Kindle, therefore free to read. But have I read it before? It doesn’t feel familiar. It’s really rather good. He blends traditional Gothic horror with small-town Maine to telling effect. I find it so scary that I don’t read it after sunset, and am interleaving it with “Pride and Prejudice”. Even there, I find myself a bit uneasy: Lydia has eloped with Wickham. But could he be one of the un-dead?...Or could she?... And they’re coming to Longbourne next week…

 

James is coming here tomorrow. I don’t know the details. I’ve got to go to the GP at midday to have some “bloods” taken. The NHS has a lot to catch up on. Why can’t they leave me alone? And (see preceding paragraph) what’s all this about blood?

 

But anyway, if I’m silent in the next few days, it will be because James is here. I’ll let you know about the ramen in due course.