Substack diary no. 127: Saturday, 18th. April 2026

Following two or three days of vigorous walking I think today I shall engage in a lengthy period of vigorous lying down, punctuated no doubt by occasional spurts of activity to either make coffee or make use of the lavatorial facilities.

It is sunny with a light breeze and I must assume, despite the relatively low temperatures, quite pleasant outside. I cannot be sure as I have resolved to not venture out and must therefore remain uncertain. However, a great deal of empirical evidence based on decades of observation has led me to the conclusion that blue sky plus sunshine plus light breeze equals pleasant. My uncertainty has shrunk more-or-less to the point of oblivion.

In a nutshell, it is my intention to relax and, by way of an experiment (or excuse if you prefer), experience what it would be like to be a work-shy pensioner of the upper classes, who get all the cooking, cleaning, gardening and other assorted household duties done from the comfort of their armchair, simply by giving orders to an assorted troupe of part-time servants before unleashing the hounds on them at 5 o’clock.

I digress. I shall simply relax. Little or no work will be done. In actual fact I have no idea how millionaires get the housework done, and I suspect they are, like all groups we attach labels to, a varied bunch who differ as much from each other as they do from me. So, in conclusion, that leaves me with just being a work-shy pensioner for a day. Marvellous!