Minted lamb shank, Yorkshire pudding-wrapped pigs in blankets, roast parsnips, roast potatoes, mixed veg

Mum was intending to go to church thus morning, so I was very much expecting to be woken by a plaintive “I don’t want to go” at some unholy hour.

In the early hours of the morning, I got up to use the loo and, on the way back to bed, mum called out “is it time to get up?” No, mum, it’s ten to four, go back to sleep. 🥱

A few hours later it was time to get up, so mum could spend an hour pacing around the house, complaining about everything and not listening to a word I said (I know this for a fact because I mentioned that my feet hurt and responded vaguely “oh? That’s good.”

At no point, though, did she say she didn’t want to go, so that’s a big step forward.

So off she went, and had a wonderful time, and I used the time to watch a short film on my phone and to play The Sims. Not exactly productive, but just what I needed.

Mum came home in great humour, and accepted my offer of a bacon sandwich with more enthusiasm than she usually shows for food.

Then we watched some showjumping, from the London International Horse Show, which we used to attend when I was much younger and it was held at the London Olympia venue in Kensington. Now it’s held st the ExCel Centre in the Docklands area of London, a venue bigger than some Island villages. (Probably. I confess I haven’t checked, but it really is an immense complex.)

Dinner was my classic ready-made things on a baking tray. Mum came into the kitchen when I called that dinner was ready, looked at the offering and said “is it tasty?”, which for a moment brought to mind a hungry Gollum. I admitted that I didn’t know if mum would think it tasty as I never know from day to day what she likes. Mum was a little embarrassed, but ate her dinner without comment so I guess I won?

And then I hit on the one downside of the end of this year’s Strictly, that I no longer get my evening half hour or so to write my post. So I’m writing this while watching Antiques Roadshow with one eye and discovering once again that a good rule of antiques is that if I like it, it’s going to be shockingly expensive.

And a good rule of writing a blog is to keep both eyes on the screen. Either the phone screen or the tv screen – just pick one and stick with it.