Illumination

I've chosen that title because as we (foolishly) went out (for a walk) at 4.30 this afternoon it seemed as if the berberis and the lilac tree beyond it were lighting up the already gloomy garden. By the time we'd finished our walk it was dark and the moon was sliding in and out of the clouds and another day was effectively over. I hate this sudden descent into winter: must make the effort to be out during daylight.

It's been that kind of day, really. Pilates in the morning was good - really hard work to drive away cobwebs - but I wasted the rest of the morning because I went back out on a fruitless errand and took too long over it. (My extra photo was taken then, showing the almost-empty main street at lunchtime; the only colour comes from the crocheted poppies on the railings and the distant tree on the right.)

An insane amount of time was consumed by booking travel insurance. It gets more finicky every time, and I don't know if this is to do with our advancing years or Brexit. I lost the heid a bit with the man I was talking to - his system crashed in mid-business and he put me on hold for ages while he sorted it; we then had to begin again ... Anyway, it ended unsatisfactorily and I need to find a more congenial way of dealing with insurance. Any ideas, out there, for the ancient traveller?

The last straw was a silly online bicker about politics. I really shouldn't rise.