Some days when I settle down to my diary and my cappuccino I develop a train of thought that seemingly arises out of nowhere, and which holds my attention for long enough to focus my thinking. That is a good thing when you get to my age. My brain normally works at a speed that feels close to that of light, with a fuzz-cloud of words and thoughts that I must will into calming and eventually, hopefully, they will morph into something coherent, and perhaps even vaguely interesting.

This morning’s train of thought was triggered by my overall health and noting that, whilst my dinner last night was rather sad and unhealthy, it was quite tasty. Olive oil. That was the phrase that triggered the next thought: my meal may have been relatively unhealthy as it included chipolatas and fried bread, but it also had a lot of olive oil. And tomatoes and red onion and chilli. Olive oil is good for you, but that wasn’t the thought. The thought was this: I have olive oil every day; what else do I have in the food and drink realm every day?

By every day I mean every day. Not every day but Friday or most weekdays. Every single day. My next thought came rapidly after the first one: coffee. Coffee in either espresso or filter form, which is also good for me. It was then that a train of thought got underway, clearing the brain fog and putting the synapses to work, providing outputs to the input question. Tea, by which I mean tea and not a fruit or other infusion, although I do enjoy a camomile infusion every evening. Bread, usually granary but sometimes white, ciabatta is a regular. And so the list goes on. To my surprise it quickly fizzled out; it would seem that there are fewer food and drink items I have every single day than I thought. Potatoes? No – perhaps once or twice a week. Tomatoes? No – maybe three or four days a week. Garlic? Maybe – almost every day.

And so it goes on. My train of thought for this morning and, although it may appear prosaic and perhaps even pointless, it was interesting to me – and good exercise too.