The morning walk with Sam and then of to St Neots shopping with Diana, car valleting and then off after lunch to Sutton Gault where Terry Stannard, as the marsh warden of the Cambridgeshire Field Sports Association, was my host on the walking tour around the Ouse Washes walk and Wiggly thereafter in late evening
Much of today was spent at home as it was the last but one day that the girls had before going back to school. Debbie was prickly as usual and we worry that she is not successfully doing her GCSE course-work assignment but cannot talk to her about it.
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It was a shorter walk with Sam than usual this morning, but I managed a bit of steadying him to shot using the blank-firing pistol and dummy launcher which is one of my main training objectives. Then off to St Neots with Diana, dropping off a couple of dustbin bags of rubbish (and a couple of dead rabbits) at the tip on the way.
Diana did some shopping, but I was struggling to either get my hair cut or even buy some stamps as the town was full of schoolchildren. Apart from those who were being taken round, others on their own might have been teachers' children as the modern tendency is for these teaching parents to be called in for a day or two of meetings before the kids are allowed in!
No time for lunch as there were several of these back at our house to worry about but we had a nice coffee in the Harvest Bakery window and spent some time gazing at humanity. Lunch at home and then this afternoon energetically cleaning the inside of my car; having taken it through the car wash in the morning.
I left it ready to be used for Diana's outing tomorrow. A better run with Sam and more steadying to shot for him and then I got ready to go out for the evening. The drive to Sutton Gault where Terry Stannard, as the marsh warden of the Cambridgeshire Field Sports Association, was due to conduct a walking tour of their marsh.
This land between the Old and New Bedford Rivers floods each winter and is a good spot for mallard and widgeon. A boat has to be launched to take advantage of it in these circumstances and the waves can be almost estuarine but in summer it is a tranquil and mild-mannered place.
I was through by 9.00pm and, just as I was thinking of calling her, Wiggly called me on the car telephone just after I left, and we chatted a while as I made my way over to see her. It was another nice meeting and, after I had admired her new cooker, I gave her my present of a Phillips electric wet-or-dry ladies' shaver and set it up for her.
She then got out a bottle of wine and two glasses and we relaxed and chatted. She is worried about work developments where her section leader is also being rumoured to be leaving as well as the only qualified one of her colleagues.
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The drive home in reflective mood, planning my activities for the future.