I feel good this morning after a varied day yesterday, with plenty of walking, a café, two pubs and browsing in shops, all in a city just 16 miles away that I have not visited in over a year. The bus journeys were pretty unpleasant and a stark reminder of how comfortable the train is in comparison. Exeter to Newton Abbot in 20 minutes in considerably greater comfort than the bus. However, the cost of rail journeys is prohibitive, and I have no budget for ‘travel’ anyway.

I have already been busy this morning, filling three watering cans with water, emptying water into the pond, feeding the fish, loading the washing machine, opening appropriate doors and windows and generally tidying up. My aches of the last two weeks have largely faded, although a few remain, and I feel fitter than I have done for some time.

July turned out to be an expensive month, but then it was my birthday month – and my anniversary month and the month my wife passed away. I ended the month almost exactly £100 overspent, which is substantial to say the least. My monthly budget for take-aways, cafés, restaurants and pubs is £50, but in July I managed to spend more than double that. I shall pay for that in August, largely in reduced spend on food and other ‘grocery’ items like cleaning materials.

I managed to skimp on energy, using less and spending less than July last year, which is quite an achievement given world energy prices. I have mastered the art of saving energy, but then I would expect that, being a retired energy professional who spent much of his life advising others how to save energy.

So, if July was ‘binge’ month August is about to become ‘belt-tightening’ month. Hopefully I may even be slimmer by the end of it!