Monday 12th September 2022

Woke at 0730. Got up and put the telly on so we could watch the final sets of the US Open Final. Made porridge and tea. Watched the extraordinary Carlos Alcaraz win the first of many Grand Slam titles...great scenes as he found his way through the crowds to reach his team...the guy is going to boss the next 20 years!!! Fielded a couple of telephone calls for work, then had lunch...Aki made a tasty cold noodle salad with sesame sauce. She managed to drag me out for a constitutional...we walked up Highgate Hill, and had a rest on a bench in Waterlow Park, before heading back home. Managed a couple of hours work at the computer ahead of inspections in Hertfordshire tomorrow. Aki cooked dinner...Moroccan lemon chicken. Very tasty! Watched a bit of telly...interesting C4 discussion on the future of the monarchy with various interesting contributors, such as the 89 year old Joan Bakewell, who's still got all her marbles. Phoned High View to see how pa had gotten on at the Freeman Hospital...it transpires that the consultant reckons his left hip ain't nowhere near as bad as his right hip was when it was replaced two years ago...and it was felt that the risks of undergoing surgery outweighed the benefit...so dad now reckons it's pure sciatic pain down that side, rather than anything to do with the arthritis in the hip. More thought needed on the conundrum, and he has another appointment in six months time. It also transpired that he'd been holding his walking stick on the wrong side...it should be in his right hand, allowing him to put his weight through the right side and take the pressure off the left hip a bit...