Saturday, 5th. September 2026

Stripping the bed means the washing machine is busier than usual. Yesterday was a whites wash – mostly mattress and pillow protectors that had to be washed, dried and returned to the bed in a day – and today is dark coloureds which, because I have three-weeks supply, is washed once every three weeks.

Today is what I would call a ‘normal’ day weather-wise. I do not mean a ‘good’ day neccessarily; just a ‘normal’ one – the sort of day we might have had at this time of year in pre-climate breakdown days. Early September, and indeed all of September, has always been essentially a continuation of summer in south Devon. The holiday season has always been longer here than in other parts of Britain. Holidaymakers of old would have been happy with a day like this; yes it is cloudy but there are extended sunny periods and there is a negligible to light breeze and it is dry. It is also quite warm and overall a very pleasant late-summer day. There is a good chance my washing will dry outside today.

I feel quite well in myself, and perhaps surprisingly relaxed after a week of anxiety and stress brought about by technology that does not work as it should. I learned yesterday in a lengthy conversation with my bank that switching my sim card from one company to another may have caused the problem I am having with my debit card, which is unusable with anything other than Apple Pay. For those who do not take Apple Pay I must use my debit card details. Except that I can’t. It would appear that when I enter my new debit card details and ‘verify Visa’ checks my credentials before sending an SMS code my card is not approved. The SMS message cannot be sent because my mobile phone company has incorrect credentials. However, a telephone call to them and an investigation later I am no further forward as the credentials held by them appear to be correct. They are as mystified as me and my bank. How can everyone be mystified in a world where technology is supposed to work more efficiently than ever before? Thank goodness for Apple Pay is all I can say.

However, those are the very tech headaches that I have put behind me. I am having a day off and, since tomorrow is Sunday I shall have tomorrow off too. Which probably explains why I feel mentally and physically relaxed today. It feels very much like a pre-retirement weekend and, like weekends of old, I think I am going to enjoy it.