No.106, Monday, 23rd. March 2026

From time to time, and actually quite rarely in my case, our plans must be altered at the last minute, often for reasons outside of our control. On a positive note, retirement means these changes tend to matter less than they otherwise might.

Today I will be cooking a special roast dinner for my mother, and somewhat belated for Mother’s Day. Previous plans were abandoned, the first because my mother thought that a large roast dinner at lunchtime would be unwise, and I agreed. The second was because it was a Sunday – yesterday – and I suspect the main reason may have been the weirdness of Sunday bus timetables. I can certainly see why that would put off someone who is unable to access bus times and route maps on a smart phone.

So today it is. Movies from the 1940’s and my mother’s favourite dinner at a civilised time – around 5pm. I shall be peeling potatoes momentarily, but there is no rush.

I have not strayed into town for three weeks so a visit is long overdue – and planned for tomorrow. Shops to visit; staples to buy; a Christmas record token to spend and friends to meet up with in the pub. They are probably wondering what has happened to me! But I am thinking it would be wise to postpone that to later in the week. A text message out of the blue tells me my brother is down from London and will arrive later today, in all likelihood just as I am busy basting meat and potatoes.

Luckily, I have not texted anyone to say I will be in the pub tomorrow, so there is no-one to let down. Everything works out in the end.