Woodbridge

After sleeping the sort of sleep you always hope to have, I was up and at 'em by 7.30, down in the kitchen doing my Portuguese lessons with a good cup of coffee. The house was sleeping for another hour, I love the peace of the relatively early morning.

The translation work has taken an interesting turn. I felt the amount of "red" in the feedback was perhaps a sign that I was slipping, or something. But apparently there has been some confusion about what the feedback was for, or perhaps a difference of opinion at head office. Anyhow, I have different instructions for dealing with the next 19 pages, and am to concentrate on making it sound like "my English". Interesting! I will ring them when I get home, it is good to be honest and I was a bit shocked at the huge amount of red all over my suggestion. I'll look at it if there is time, but we have two birthday celebrations this weekend and they are the priority!

We had a coffee and chat session with our old friend Stephen and his new partner Celia, lovely to catch up and to hear how happy he is with being a grandpa - it happened 2 days ago. We wandered along the river, which is tidal and therefore muddy a lot of the time. It was water when we went to town, and it was mud when we walked back home.

I always say that Woodbridge is the one place I bump into people I know in the town centre, and today it was John, pushing his bike. Lovely John, getting morphine patches for his Ghanaian wife Dela who is waiting for a hip replacement (2 years and counting). She is in a lot of pain, and is hoping things will move faster as of this week when she meets the surgeon. Having sickle cell makes everything much more fraught of course. We'll meet up with them over the weekend.

Kathryn is singing int he musical version of The Calendar Girls" and has to get her own costume together. It should be pastel shades and formal - something the charity shops of the town did not have in huge numbers. She did find a great pair of new black kitten heeled shoes she can dance in on stage! I am now the owner of a pair of unused thick grey leggings from M&S, a snip at under £4, my old Lidl ones have been mended to within an inch of their life, so it was fortunate! I like grey as a foil for all the other brights that I love. I looked at the books but hadn't really got time for the sort of deep searching that can take ages and be such a delight. Another day perhaps. The lads were more book-interested.

After we'd had enough of the thrills of Woody, we wandered back and I treated everyone to some delicious ice cream, which we ate sitting out in the sunshine up against a warm wall. Wonderfully summery! Then we wandered back along the river to make some sausage and mash and baked beans for tea. Kathryn is now out at rehearsal, and the match is on the box. Arsenal v Southhampton - the top of the league v the bottom team. There's a lot of shouting going on in the room, and I glance up just occasionally as I blip. (I promised not to make any remarks or be silly during the match, which is fair enough in a football-mad household)

Pleased to see the removal from the front benches of a renowned bully who appears to show no remorse for his behaviour. What a bunch of inadequates there are supposedly running the country. Now one less. I wonder how long Suella Braverman will hold on?