We went to the Beefeater "Travellers Rest" in Girton so much that the staff knew us, and we knew them. It's nice to be known, to feel one's among friends to some extent. We kept disappointing the waiters and waitresses by seldom ordering desserts. You know what you got with the food there, especially if you've been there as often as we've been there. I quite often went for the Chili Con Carne even if it was unromantic to see the Chef squeezing the meat out of a bag. Standard fare at reasonable prices if you go before 6.30pm. I like the building the Traveller's Rest (the Beefeater in Girton) is in. Sometimes we sit downstairs in a nice secluded alcove. Sometimes we site overlooking the kitchen and wonder if it's our dishes waiting to be collected off the metal shelves. Sometimes we sit in the conservatory and admire the fuchsias. Beefeater's reward card looks like someone took a bite out of it. As of July 2024 sadly this Beefeater has closed.

Clean snow covers up many a weed. The ground is slippery, and stubbly. I have to open the car from the other side as the lock has frozen. Breath can be seen as mist upon the air. Hypnotic swirling patterns of dots rush towards me as I drive. Suddenly the other side of the road is a long way away, and I wish I could work from home. The cats tread gingerly in the back garden, unsure of putting each paw down. It's been so so long since winter came and stayed. Perhaps I'm not out there with the children building snowmen, but I love the change that winter brings. Each season has its own magic, its own value. My mind drifts. I like Vivaldi's "Four Seasons". And I like Mucha's "Four Seasons" too.

We had friends round earlier this year, and as we were sitting down to Sunday lunch there came a dire crash from the lounge. Fearing the worse (cats mixed up with broken glass cabinet) we dashed to see, Happily the cats were safe upstairs, but a framed print of Van Gogh's "Bridge At Arles" had tumbled down. Broken glass and frame littered the floor. Decided it was time for something different hanging there. Started surfing the web to see what was on offer. We like Thomas Kinkade, the painter of light, but his pictures are very expensive. After some deliberation we picked "Noonday Dreams" by "Tadashi Asoma", a Japanese painter working in the US. To support local business in Histon we had it framed by "Jane's Frames" in Station Road, she got it done fast and well. And now it hands over the fireplace - well over where the fireplace would be if it wasn't the boiler and we didn't have central heating.

We haven't been for a while but we did go regularly to the Bella Italia in Newnham. This is in what used to be a watermill and still has the millwheel visible in a glass cabinet inside the restaurant. There's another glass tile in the floor through which you can see the mill race underneath! A chain of restaurants with pasta dishes on the menu. Spaghetti bolognese is one of my favourite dishes. At a Bella Italia I quite often have San Pellegrino Limonata to drink. Lemon flavours act on me like catnip does to cats. Nice ambience and an interesting setting. In 2016 this restaurant was moved to Bridge Street in Cambridge.

"The Old Crown" used to be famous for its very large portions. It did roaring business then. Times have changed, for a while the tenants found it very difficult to make ends meet because of the terms forced on them by the pub chain landlords, but at the moment The Old Crown seems to be surviving. It's most recent change of decor then worsened the character for me (the pictures are some time back.) The food wasn't as special as it was a year or so back. But it's reasonably close, and it offered a different menu to the other places we go. In late 2017 the "Old Crown" went seriously upmarket, and the prices reflect this. Soup came in a jug which got poured into the bowl in front of you. I wished them well but dining there was no longer a regular part of our dining out. In 2019 the "Old Crown" reopened and was more reasonable. Roast lamb on Sunday could have too much fat on it. In 2024 without any fanfare the "Old Crown" became a Nepalese restaurant. Good to have variety but not a variety we patronise.

The keyboard I had been using for practice at home is of limited range, one key is prone to not sounding, and the touch is very light compared with the digital piano I have lessons with Jan Payne on. Eventually thinking about getting a better instrument, and talking about a better instrument, have grown into action. I ordered a Roland digital piano from Millers in Cambridge, and it arrived today. Buying was a slightly worrying experience - my credit card vanished for an appreciable time with what I hoped was a salesperson! But the interest free repayments are worth having. At first my fingers got tired from the heavier touch. But my teacher says it is definitely helping my hand shape! Despite being a cheaper model it has three pedals, and multiple sounds. Virginia may well try her hand or hands at learning piano. Must continue to urge and encourage her!

The cake Virginia did for my mother's 80th birthday.

On Sunday we had a very pleasant day, seeing how my sister's family was faring on a narrow boat holiday on the Grand Union Canal. The weather was very benign, a sweet refreshing breeze that complemented the clear shadows. If it had been raining not so much fun, but the heavens were smiling. The holiday narrow boat (not a barge) slept six, and came with a TV and DVD player. The boats are narrow enough that two fit side by side in the locks. There was a good range of boats on the river, from holiday boats through private boats festooned with moving gardens to even a floating smithy! The speed of the boats is about walking pace (one should slow down past other boats and fishermen.) It is this forced slowness that made the day so pleasant, no choice but to slow down and relax and unwind. Like stepping back in time out of our stressed strained suspicious modern age. There was time for me to have a chat with my nephew Andrew which I rarely do, and find how he's spending time on customising Firefox tabs with Javascript. In some areas there was a lot of activity. Cyclists clad in gear like cyborgs dashing frantically along the towpaths, families taking the dog for a walk, fishermen dotting the riverbanks with their gear. Some fishermen had rods which practically spanned the river, as we passed they raised their rods as if they were knighting us with a sword. In other areas we only had the swans and herons and ducks for company. My niece Beth spent quite a bit of time trying to feed the ducks with bread visibly past its sell-by date. The locks on the Grand Union Canal aren't as modern as some, hand powered rather than press button and the electrical motor does the work. On the up end of the lock there were normally two sets of paddles (sluice gates which control the flow of water) to be worked, one in the gates and one on the ground of the lock. You raise the ground one first to avoid accidents. There's a ratchet to stop the paddle falling back as you use a lever (three came with the boat) to turn the axle which rotating raises of lowers the paddle. The lower end of the lock only has a gate paddle. The lock gates themselves have to be dragged or pushed which requires a certain strength, there is a track with raised bricks to help give grip as you strain away. A crew is useful to do this, but some people were navigating down or up the canal by themselves. There wasn't perhaps dramatic scenery, or rapids to be run. The White Lion cut into the hillside was advertising Whipsnade Zoo rather than being an Iron Age relic. But it was a very pleasant time.

We spent a long weekend seeing Stonehenge and Longleat and Avebury Stone Circle.

The cake Virginia did for her mother's 70th birthday.

Two fledglings were roaming about our back garden, undecided whether flying was something they wanted to do. One was a blackbird, one a starling. They seemed quite unafraid, calling out for food, even jostling a dove. Could have sworn that the same fledgling got fed by both blackbird and starling but perhaps I was wrong. Virginia kept the cats from having their exercise in the back garden, something they complained about! And they did so want to have a present to give her... Two days later they were gone. Hopefully the absence of feathers means they left under their own steam rather than in the clutches of a marauding beast.

Histon has its Feast Week at the middle of the year. The funfair comes and squats on the village green, Virginia is amazed how much they manage to fit on quite a small area. There's a variety of events from the Feast Parade through concerts to hog roasts. We went to a concert by the Moonlight Mandolins, an enthusiastic and competent amateur group who played on a variety of instruments including mandolins, lutes, guitars, and mandora. Had tried several times before to see (and hear) them so this was pleasant. Good to do different things, and as I listened I thought it's good to have outlets for one's energies. If I didn't have hobbies I would be a sadder person. One regular event in Feast Week is the Flower Festival held at the St Andrews Histon parish church. I'd like to think this is a survivor from pagan days, a translation of well dressings and Green Man ceremonies. Probably not. Anyway it gives people a chance to be creative with their displays, and a chance for others to enjoy such displays. There are refreshments to be had, on Saturday there were cream teas, and musical accompaniment too.

Digby's in the house. He's standing in a cosy corner of the kitchen like he doesn't mean to move, but you're conscious he's there because of the way he hums to himself. A bit loud but we'll get used to it. He's a bit sure of himself is Digby. I'm friendly not frosty like the others he says. I'm clever with an A in Economy he says. I'm a cool dude he says. I find Digby rather intimidating - he's given to icy stares, he's taller than I am, and he's definitely clammy to the touch. Get too in with Digby and he'll chill you to the marrow. But we all have our ways. Digby is quite accommodating, and willing to shelve things which is nice. We all compartmentalise to some extent. We'll let Digby stay - freeze jolly good fellow.

Virginia and I went to see the unfinished Elizabethan mansion of Lyveden New Bield belonging to the National Trust. The rains held off, and it was clear (but cold on the exposed hilltop the mansion is built on.) The mansion was being built for Sir Thomas Tresham, but abandoned on his death in 1605. The family fell on hard times, particularly as the son was involved in the Gunpowder Plot and died in the Tower of London. The mansion against all the odds survived in its unfinished state til the National Trust bought it. Sir Thomas was a staunch Catholic, and this mansion had lots of Catholic symbols and codes in its design. It is built in the shape of a cross, important numbers like 3 and 5 and 7 and 14 feature, a plinth ready for a status of the Virgin Mary can be seen. Apart from the mansion there is a snail or spiral mound to be seen (intended for exercise and taking the air,) and also a nascent orchard containing fruit trees of the period.

A cruise to the Eastern Med so Virginia and I could tick the Pyramids off as well as the Parthenon. The ruins of Ephesus were the best bit for me.

The cake Virginia did for Carmen's dedication.

"Tabitha And Amelia See The World" was a free browser based game where the player helps our cats (Tabitha And Amelia) to see a variety of countries round the globe. The style of the game is a CYOA (Choose Your Own Adventure) so very much simpler to the other games I've tried to do. The aim this time was to manage to complete a game for a change! The puzzles in this game are word based, similar to those in a crossword. There isn't a plot to follow, a moral to be drawn, or a prize when and if the end is reached. There is no sound either in the game, but on each 'page' there is a scene showing one of our cats at a scenic location. If you like doing crosswords or word puzzles, don't mind a simple presentation, then this game may be for you.