Friday

Good morning, everyone.
What a day it was yesterday!  Non-stop from beginning to end, I got to bed just before midnight and at four this morning I was awake and raring to go!  I think a daytime sleep will be a good idea.

After dropping Al off and feeding the cats, I drover over to Billericay to pick up J and take her to the dentist.  Then we went to a local garden centre I have never visited.  I will go back - it's a very good one with loads of healthy plants and a very wide range of other garden things.  We decided to have lunch there and I had a favourite, brie, bacon and cranberry baguette.  It was delicious.  Then it was another round of the plants to pick up a few things we had spotted earlier.  I was very restrained but found a lilac geranium that should look very nice in my middle bed.

J had brought a book to read while I picked up Alex and then we had an early dinner before heading off for town to see the live stream of Madama Butterfly from the Royal Opera House.  It was a splendid performance, very 'tight' and dramatic and heartbreaking at the end.  Some excellent acting all round (unlike Idomineo last week) and, of course, the music was superb.

After that I drove J home and arrived home after eleven.

Today I have quite a lot of things to catch up on as well as that catch-up sleep that I know will be necessary at some point.  No peace for the wicked!  Have a lovely day and, if you have sunshine, enjoy it!