Normal

I brought the table tennis table out onto the lawn for the weekend and made everyone play with me, as often and for as long as possible. Luckily they all enjoyed it too. I don't think I've played for four years but it soon came back, and I remembered the utter bliss of the game. Honestly, if I had someone to play with me I'd be at it all the time. Table tennis. It sharpens your reactions, it exercises your hand-eye coordination, it keeps you moving about and it gets your heart rate going. What could be better, especially as it's enormous fun too. I'm thinking of advertising for someone to play with me, a card in the Co-op in Fram maybe, or a line on Streetlife. It's absurd that I have the table and accoutrements but nobody to share it with. I'll have to be clear that I'm not a brilliant player, and that I'm a woman of a certain age, but that I'm still quite fit, in the old-fashioned sense of the word obviously. I'd hate someone to turn up and get a shock when they saw me.

Hugo revelled in all the attention he got, the sheer adoration, and was charm itself as usual. I quickly got used to tea in bed every morning, and long leisurely chats while the dog basked between legs on the duvet. Despite the miserable weather forecast every day we had some lovely sunshine and warmth, just what you want when people come to stay. But it was back to normal today, which meant slaving over hot weeds in the garden, and chattering in Italian with my two amiches while munching the most divine chocolate and ginger cookies (Co-op Truly Irresistible). Now it's just us again, the boy and me. The song that has gone round and round in my head for the last four years, namely Alone Again, Naturally by Gilbert O'Sullivan, is no longer appropriate, as I'm not. There are two of us here now, and who could be more companionable, more easy going, more loveable than Hugo? Who indeed?