Sorry for the gap. Yesterday was the birthday, of course, and a very pleasant day too. Not too many people and all nicely strung out. James and Cathy were here at the weekend. Rachel came on Monday and has just now gone away, already much missed.

   Helen was in Ireland last week, staying with and learning from an Irish mosaicist. This week they are in Edinburgh with Helen leading. 

   The knitting is moving forward slowly. I’ve finished the initial 10 rounds of in-the-round garter, humiliated that I, who fancied myself as a knitter once, should be brought down by so basic a pattern. There are mistakes. I have left them. They mostly (or entirely) consist of turning around and setting off i  the wrong direction. That is less likely now that I have embarked on a st st section,

   (Mary Lou Egan’s “Overlap Pullover DK” Ravelry. V highly recommended.)

   Wordle: my starters gave me all five letters today, one of them green. Tnreefor me— anc Thomas and  Mark and Alexander. Ketki and Rachel were hoist by the familiar Wordld petard. They had everything except the second letter, and there were lots of possibilities. Both scraped home with six.

   Both Theo and Roger had second-letter difficulties. Theo fought his way free in four, but Roger was another four.

   Thank you for your birthday greetings.