Hi Ayame,
Agree with Merry, it does get easier the longer you do this, in my first try on 5:2 I dropped 30kg in 18 months, but then fell off because of a cold winter. I then found I could only do this lifestyle in the warmer months, and struggled to maintain in winter.
This time, and I am coming up eight years in November, I am trying 4:3.
It is much more challenging, so lucky to have OH on the journey with me.
How I am working it out, Mondays FD, clears what I went up over the weekend, then Wednesday and Friday are the days that I pull some weight off.
Thanks to Thin, I have learnt this time to never give up on a fast day, I have one small meal in the evening, and drink hot water when OH has coffee throughout the day.
Yesterday the hunger dragon popped his head up at 3pm, so I had a banana and then took those calories off my evening meal. By the time it came to dinner I wasn’t hungry, so got through and recorded 300g loss.
Remember, this is a lifestyle, be kind to yourself, and with all that’s going on at present, you may sometimes need to eat just over 500 calories, but just remember when you wake each morning, it’s a new day, and don’t stress about what is done.
Have a great day!

Ayame, sorry to read that you find the FDs deeply unpleasant – but what a reward of a 2kg loss. That is a huge loss for one week. I lost half a kg per week. Try to embrace the hunger with the knowledge that it’s doing your body so much good. Hunger comes and goes in waves and can be satiated with activity – even in lock-down.

Turn, that was fast. It wasn’t that long ago that you wanted to see the 60s. Now you’re well and truly in them.

CharlieG, you’re also doing so well. I, too, like to keep a small banana in reserve for a FD. I can handle daytime hunger but there’s nothing worse than going to bed hungry with nothing to distract you but your rumbling stomach. If I can do without it, even better because at my weight my FD cals should be closer to 350. This is the cruel irony of successful weight loss!

CharlieG, to answer your question, we sold our home and everything we had in Perth so this is our only home for now. We originally planned to buy a boat, cruise for a season and then sell it and explore Europe but, with covid, everything changed. Not welcome back in Australia, we continued to float around and we’ve now taken to the lifestyle. Fortunately, Britain gave my OH a spousal visa for 30 months so this is our base for now. We book into a different marina Dec-Feb inclusive and hope to spend this winter in Spain if safe to travel. Last winter, our plans for the Canary Isles were scuppered and we had to stay in the marina. It’s now getting dark at 9pm and we don’t relish the short winter days.

Cinque, everyone loves beetroot but me, Anzac and LJ.

Thin, surely our intense loathing of beetroot is equivalent to several “likes”.
I have finally made the last of my planned Hairy Bikers low cal recipes.
I made many changes to their cottage pie recipe and turned it into 6 rather than 8 serves as that sits at a better calorie level for me (370 instead of 250). This is what the final ramekins and tubs for the freezer look like: https://imgur.com/a/1Q3m4Cg I discovered the mince I had in the freezer weighed just 220g, well under what was required, so I padded the mixture out with 500g minced portabello mushrooms and 2 minced zucchini. It had the added bonus of not increasing the calories but it upped the volume of mixture considerably. I used low GI potatoes for the topping, and as they have over 1/3 less calories than normal potatoes I was able to include some carrots and cauliflower in the mash – which increased both the flavour and volume without upping total calories. I also chose to not add any yoghurt or creme fraiche, but used the calories for grated parmesan instead – a bigger flavour hit.
In case you are wondering why my tubs for the freezer have been made upside down, it’s so that I can tip the frozen contents out into a ramekin and it comes out right-way-up and ready for baking. I think mash topped pies taste much better freshly baked when tops are all crispy, so I always freeze them before this step. Luckily baking a single ramekin is an easy exercise in my airfryer. Not sure I’d do it this way if I had to use the oven every time.
The cottage pies look so tempting I wish I was having it for dinner, but it’s chicken and bacon casserole tonight. I have to wait another day to try a freshly baked cottage pie.
I’ve just done a trawl through the remaining HB recipes to see what I want to tackle next. I’ll get the ingredients for the cauliflower fried rice tomorrow, so I can intersperse it with the cottage pie meals over the weekend. I’m still trying to decide between the beef goulash and the lamb hotpot for next week. I think I’ll make the kale and bean soup too. I’m quite impressed that there are so many things I have been tempted to make from the HB low cal recipes. I think it helps that their recipes are mostly the type of hearty fare I crave in cold weather – not sure it would be quite so appealing in hotter weather.

Quite hungry this afternoon but distracting myself by writing here while I wait for a pot of tea to brew. I spent much of the afternoon cleaning – it’s funny how the imminent arrival of the nurse tomorrow sends me into a flurry of tidying and cleaning – happens every time.

Good morning all,

Thank you all for the birthday wishes. Thankfully the birthday dinner at the Indian Restaurant didn’t impact on my weight loss, but I was conservative and had 2 courses instead of the usual 3 and only one small bite of the garlic bread Mr and Miss Gday shared. Still losing each week and am now just under 8kg weight loss since 28th June – another 9kg to go to reach goal weight. Surprisingly, my body measurements have decreased, but not as much as I expected with the amount of weight lost, however clothes fit and how I look in the mirror shows my weight has definitely reduced. Because I’m doing a lot of cardio and strength exercise I’m building muscle so I’m sure that explains my body measurements.

Oh my goodness Thin all of those locks to go through. I was thinking of you while watching an episode of Rick Stein in France last night as he was cruising down the canals going through locks on a huge barge/narrowboat.

Lindsay those last few kg’s of weight are always the most frustrating to lose. I’ve read all of the great responses to your post so will just add that maybe up your exercise a bit, a little more intense exercise if you can and try to keep your carb intake for the earlier part of the day so the body has time to work off the calories etc before you settle down at the end of the day.

I’ve also enjoyed watching Doctor at the Door, quite interesting to get an insight into peoples lives.

Can’t recall who asked now but I’ve had the Pfizer vaccine, Mr Gday has had the AZ. We didn’t get the choice but was allotted the vaccine type as determined by our age. If I was only offered the AZ, I honestly don’t think I would have gone ahead so I was very relieved to be able to get the Pfizer.

The last week has been very cold with some near minus temps in the mornings. Coming up this week we have day temps in the mid 30’s. Roll on summer, I am totally over the cold weather.

Must go, time to wake up Miss Gday to get ready for school. Happy Friday everyone.

Good afternoon everyone.

I’ve had my infusion and the nurse has gone, all went well, as it usually does.

Neil, you are doing well, you’ll be back in double digits very soon.

GDSA, glad to hear your weight loss continues. I’m not surprised that your weight loss is impacted by building muscle. I remember losing a lot of weight in my 20s and then really increasing the weights at the gym. I dropped a full dress size but my weight actually increased by 5kg.
I’m looking forward to spring, summer not so much.

I have been trolling through calorie counted recipes to finish my meal plan for next week. I have settled on 2 mains and a hearty soup. From the Hairy Bikers diet collection: Kale, Bean & Chorizo Soup and also Lamb Hotpot. I’m also making Ras-el-hanout chicken & veg traybake (from the BBC site). These will provide enough for most lunches and dinner with the occasional addition of something from the freezer – so it doesn’t get too repetitive.

While looking for recipes I found a few handy links on the BBC site which some of you might also find useful. These recipes all come from BBC programs – most are from cooking shows and some from medical docos that focus on weight or health.

Calorie counted dinner recipes under 500cals per serve. While the actual calories vary, most are in the 400s – probably designed for people following a 1200cal daily diet plan. Clearly 500 is too many calories for a FD dinner (unless you are on 800cal FDs), but these are good recipes for managing eating on NFDs and even on a FD a half serve with extra side veg is a good option to get a filling meal that fits into a FD. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/500-calorie_dinners

I noticed that Justine Patterson always includes the calorie count for her recipes – most helpful. She also had quite a few dishes that were very appealing to me. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chefs/justine_pattison

For those of you following a Mediterranean diet: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/flavours_of_the_mediterranean

I have trolled through all of these links and copied quite a lot of recipes to a file. I might need to revisit this when the weather warms up as I can see by my choices how focused I still am on winter fare.

Cinque, I’m glad someone loves beetroot. I love parsnip, does that count?
Yes I noticed that comment about the water before meals. It also has the added benefit of filling you up so you don’t overeat.

Hope everyone is well.

Good morning,
I am planning to do a catch up with all the posts I missed responding to, at the same time as skipping through because there are too many to respond to as I would like.

Merry, sending good wishes. It is tricky having so many people in the house with special needs. But hooray that it is an understanding house that keeps everyone safe and included. I hope you are able to look after yourself well among the family chaos, and being looked after.

I did that ‘make a veggie face’ with my Arfidy Autistic darling yesterday and it was lovely. We will make veggie animals next, maybe after doing something different next week.).
Here is her self portrait on the right, and a ‘fully grown man’ on the left. https://imgur.com/a/lerKZQB

Ayame, one more addition to me writing about making fast days easy and sustainable.

Everyone is so different with what suits them. Dr Mosley wrote his Fast800 book partly to cater for people who needed to lose a good amount of weight quickly, so they feel they are rally achieving something (several weeks of 800 calories a day).
Then back to 5:2 with a higher amount of calories on fast days (800 a day instead of the original 500 or 600) for the people who find 500 or 600 unbearable. He finds that it is just about as effective, and if it makes it easy and sustainable then that is the way to go.

Some people are best with no food, one meal, etc. Some people are best with liquids all day (including soups). Some need lots of lean protein, others stick to low carb veggies. And then some people choose busy days, some people choose the weekend, some change days each week, other carve them in stone.

The only common factor is that we are all trying to work out what makes it easy and sustainable.

I love that the friend who encouraged me to start said “It is just one day! You can do anything for just one day”. That is still the most useful saying for me, because if I do make it through that ‘just one day’ I feel so wonderful the next morning.

Gday I hope those good choices you made at the Indian Restaurant made you feel wonderful. Woot woot for the happy mirror and fitting clothes.

So true that the last kilos are the hardest ones to lose.

Neil, great work!

LJoyce, glad to hear the infusion is done and dusted.
Yay Parsnips (I like them better than beetroots!). I just wish they hadn’t become so expensive.

Ooh what a fab recipe hunt you have been on. Won’t you have a lovely freezer full.

Thin, maybe I could help with your beetroot phobia by dropping the word in every post or so to help desensitise you 😉 😉

I’m off to have a drink of water right now.

Ooh and time to get ready for a family zoom (sisters, niece and my daughter too).

Have a good day everyone!

Cinque, what a card you are. It won’t work, I just feel sick every time you mention the B word. Loved those veggie and fruit faces. Does the ‘it’s just one day’ friend still practice IF? The person who introduced me to it couldn’t stick with it, sadly.

CharlieG, tremendous effort.

Can’t help myself, have to weigh in on the Beetroot debate (apologies Thin for mentioning the B word). I have never tried it and never will. Childhood memories of watching the purple colour ooze around the plate contaminating the other food, turning everything purple just about gave me nightmares and still does. Oddly enough, purple is my favourite colour, always has been. Go figure.

Fast day Sunday,

Hooray to come here and find good news like Charlie, woot! you didn’t need that 4kg and now it is gone. Hooray!
https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/congratulations-text-gift-card-flowers-bouquet-pink-background-white-blank-space-frame-mockup-spring-festive-flower-181639323.jpg
OH will get there!

And Neil, mmm yum that chutney! Plus I will keep an eye out for that white beetroot, although the kvass just wouldn’t be the same without its colour!

Gday, don’t the textures and colours of childhood experience leave deep impressions.

Ha Thin, well others are keeping up your desensitisation program so I can let it rest 🙂
The girls worked really hard on their veggie faces and Ms7 had no problem with handling textures, but Ms 4 needed to wash her hands every 5 minutes, however she is a squisher.
Sadly the friend who put me onto 5:2 is the one who has developed dementia and depends on her husband for all the cooking now. I did mention 5:2 as she has put on a lot of weight, but she isn’t interested now.

LJoyce, such a pity your parsnip crop didn’t work last year. Good thinking re raised garden beds, and you can give them that soil they like. I am not even ready to try, but I am doing myself the favour of buying them more often.

Congratulations, that fried rice looks so tasty.

I accidentally used up all the bacon before I bought chicken! But on the exciting side I see the poultry shop has two small whole chickens at a good price and now I am having a go at cutting up chicken I can joint them, freeze them and then make all my chicken recipes as I choose. So chicken and bacon on the shopping list.

What a smart, solid letter box. It will be so lovely as your garden grows around it.

Neil, daily weighing are fascinating, don’t they reflect how complicated our body processes are.

Well off I go to not eat anything
Sending good wishes to everyone.

Greetings All,
Neil, I share with you the multiple ways of dealing with beetroot, and well done for the double digits weigh in.
LJoyce, this firewood collecting is very good for my cardio, while OH cuts with the chainsaw, I take the block splitter, and cut the rounds down to a size we can handle. The biggest problem is that the back paddock has no level ground, so my feet are often well below the wood I am cutting.
Thin & LJ thanks for the words of encouragement.
Other little task yesterday was to cut up all my ripe bananas and put them in my dehydrator. They were intended to be banana and blueberry muffins, however when cooking on Thursday, my oven decided to die.
I love this recipe as it has no sweetening other than the banana and one on a NFD doesn’t push my weight up like other snacks do.
Tonight they are done and dusted, as I cut them I counted how many made a whole banana, so that should the Hunger Dragon show his head in future, I have my banana.
Lock down starting to suck, food is starting to run out, we can only travel 5km to get foods, our nearest supermarket is 26km away, and chemist is 60km plus we now needs parts for the farm, so time to make ourselves permits so we can travel for the things we need, lucky we are in the agriculture industry.
Some police are not sympathetic to us being out on the roads, and we got news today that our lockdown will be extended.
Have a great week people’s, have changed our FD’s this week, so I can cook special dinner Wednesday for our wedding anniversary.
Happy days!

HK, I’m so happy that you liked that casserole. I find it hard to believe that it’s a FD meal. From where do you get the sixpence for the weighing machine? Thanks for asking about the leg cramps – too early to tell but I think possibly, yes. On the other hand, I’ve had a diabolical week of eating with two pub meals, far too much alcohol and even ice cream – so it could have been any of that!

We met some boating friends and travelled for a few days with them, eating our way through the countryside. I hold them accountable for the excess alcohol too. Fortunately, we covered a fair few locks as well and I was surprised to be roughly the usual weight for the start of today’s FD. Unfortunately, they had to head back today but we had some new travelling buddies for the (14) double locks today. They invited us to share their BBQ this evening so, in declining, I had to explain about FDs. I anticipate further discussion tomorrow.

GDSA, ha! That’s four of us vs. B. I love the colour purple in food but not in clothes. Like you, this is a childhood thing where purple would have been considered a bit ‘tarty’ to wear (along with bra straps on show which I also dislike). I used to enjoy fooling friends by serving grated purple carrot in salad platters. They’d always think it was the other thing. And Neil, too bad it wasn’t the post of 12:16 am 29 Aug 21 that disappeared. Ha ha. Cinque, nope, your flooding technique isn’t working.

Jony, loved hearing from you and reading your post. Sounds as if you’re doing well and making the most of lockdown. Hurray for the govt. finally waking up to herd immunity. And boo to the naughty Aussie that brought you covid.

LJ, isn’t that leeky mash great? You seem to be having fun adjusting the recipes and making them your own. That cauliflower rice looks fabulous but doesn’t seem to be in either of my HB books. Was it Intesha who shared a cauliflower rice recipe before? I wonder if she’s still reading. The mailbox looks very nice.

CharlieG, hope you don’t get too bogged down with lock-down. Happy Anniversary. How many years?

Dear all

Thin, when I said sixpence I meant five cents -I was having a flashback to the remote past! Sounds as if you had a lot of fun with your boating friends. And nice that you have new companions for support in negotiating the locks. I’d welcome any pictures of your boat and your travels!

Lindsay, how delicious that food sounds! Travel money going on fences – not so much fun! – but hope that the new fence is done quickly and works well. A good fence is a fine thing, especially when you have a dog.

I’ve had a delicious breakfast this morning – spelt bread toasted and spread with butter and cumquat marmalade. The morning after FD is so good!

Good wishes to all
HK

HK, oh I see, I thought it would be great if the pharmacy supplied the sixpences. I’m a bit loathe to post my boating blog URL here as, although I now have followers from all over the world, it was intended originally just for our close friends and family and there are plenty of identifying references and photos that I’d prefer not to have linked to this forum. If you’d be willing to temporarily paste an email address into your personal profile, I’ll send you the link and then you can quickly remove it.

Lindsay, my thoughts are with you and OH. Try not to worry until you’re given something to worry about. Easier said than done I know.

Lindsay, just echoing the wise words and good wishes of Thin and Cinque.
Thinking of you
HK

I’m really sorry to hear that Lindsay. I’ll join in with the others and and wish you and your other half the best possible outcome.

Hi Lindsay, sending loads of positive thoughts your way.

Lindsay, sending positive thoughts and hugs to you and OH. I hope you find out soon that everything is ok.

Good morning,
I had a good fast day, and a good eating day yesterday.
I started today with my ‘crispbread’ with a thin slice of cheese, kippers, roasted capsicum and freshly picked parsley. Yum.

Jony, so good to see your post, great picture, great catch up. I’m glad 5:2 is keeping your weight stable and hopefully the warm weather and restrictions easing, will mean you get to lose a bit more excess weight.
10kg gone is a great result woot! woot! Who needs to carry an extra 10kg around? Not us!

Charlie, ooh yum dehydrated bananas. For a while they were my favourite treat. (Bought ones, I bet home made are even better).
I’m glad you got to Wodonga for necessary food and services (allowed under our restrictions, so no fines for you!). Lovely to have your kitchen stocked up ready for the next couple of weeks.
I am so glad Mr Charlie got through that heart attack. Hooray for treating every day as the precious 24 hours it is, and the people we know for the precious people they are.

Helen Kate, a flatter tummy is the best sign your health is improving, and doesn’t it help make you feel good too! Cheers for managing the close together fast days so well. It will be really interesting to see what the chemists scales say next time you are there.
Yay for slow and steady and lasting a lifetime.

Thin, good news if the leg cramps are easing. I hope the locks all behaved themselves and that you had a lovely time with your fellow travelers.

Lindsay, https://www.affirmations.com.au/assets/full/K267.jpg?20210318030948

I overdid it yesterday, but plan to potter around today, getting the kitchen clean, video call the grandkids, and maybe, just maybe, start clearing my desk.

I’ve got my food all organised (layered veggie ramekin for lunch and a big bowl of minestrone for my evening meal).

Take care everyone

Hello all

I am taking a little time out from “taking care of business” to send a quick message.

Today I am tackling some big tasks that have been lurking at the back of my mind for a while, and getting bigger than they really are as they lurk. I need to do the annual report of the spending of the Disability Trust that we have for my youngest sister (the one with Aspergers/autism), and I need to do my tax, and I need to do some financial thinking and planning for the modest inheritance that will come through soon from my dear Dad who died earlier this year. I have no natural aptitude or liking for these tasks but they need to be done and I will feel so much better when they are.

Cinque, what delicious food you make for yourself, so colourful and delicious-sounding.

Neil, how active you are! and congratulations on going down into double digits. I like the sound of your plantings. I would much rather be out in the garden than here at my desk. Later!

Warm wishes to all, especially to you Lindsay

HK

Hello all.What a lovely, kind bunch of friends you all are. My first thought when the news had settled yesterday was to write in this forum ….and so many kind and thoughtful words of support and encouragement. Thin, Cinque, HK, LJ, Neil, Charlie, Anzac, Merry, Calif. My OH was very touched and thanks you for your kindness. me too.

So, on to the news. An appointment with the GP, followed by an anxious night in emergency, before they sent him home after many hours of tests…an MRI, ultrasound, scan, with dye to see what was what, and after having taken literally, 15 vials of blood. It appears he has, to quote the emergency doctor, ‘a significant mass’ in his neck, and a blood clot in his jugular vein. Back to his normal GP today for a scheduled health check (ironic, yes?) who discussed possibilities and prognosis. The vein has really swelled since he saw the GP last week – even in the past day or two. He is injecting anticoagulants twice a day to disperse the clot. They felt he would do better at home, as all they could really do for him was inject the anticoagulant. So, off to a thyroid/endocrinology surgeon tomorrow who’ll decide when and how to operate. He’ll also need to include an ENT specialist, and a vascular surgeon to round out the team. Both of us feel absolutely shattered, although OH maintains a stiff Scottish lip (is there such a thing?). I guess the bit I am shocked by is how I woke up yesterday morning to a perfectly normal day, and whammo! this.

So that’s all for now. Hope you are all well and happy and whatever stage of lockdown exists in your world, isn’t too hard to manage.

Cinque, such a pretty image, thank you.

Good evening all.

HK, a tedious group of tasks if you don’t like dealing with those things. I’m sorry to hear of your father’s passing. I remember you mentioning him last year.

Neil, excellent work, I hope you can cement those double digit number firming in place.

Jon, as others have mentioned, you are lucky to live in such a scenic place.

My walk today was along the esplanade and then out to the end of Brighton jetty. I noticed a lady creating artwork in the sand https://imgur.com/a/6o8VP01 I was amazed at how perfect those curves and circles were – mine would be a wobbly mess if I attempted something similar. Interesting that someone is willing to put a lot of time into creating something lovely, only to have the tide claim it a few hours later.

I have temporarily altered my plan of having a main meal at lunch as the weather is warmer for a few days. I realised I just don’t fancy a big meal at lunch time when the weather is warmer. It will be cold and wet again by Friday so I’ll resume cooking hearty meals for lunch then.

Take care all.

Lindsay,
Thank you for taking the time to let us what is going on with OH, wishing you both the best outcome, and please know that we are thinking of you both.
Funny how we get into a routine, and then when we change that routine it feels really strange. Today would normally be a NFD, and both of us fasting today felt really strange, here’s hoping we can get through this back to front week.
LJ, what a great pic of the sand art, a great way for that lady to no doubt use the art perhaps as a form of meditation, and perhaps as a coping skill at present, and giving joys to others as well.
Fellow fasters, how do you post your pics on here?
Many thanks,
Charlie.

Lindsay,
Oh my isn’t it true that a normal day can change so quickly. Thinking of you and Mr L this morning. The good wishes keep streaming your way.
Thank goodness for modern medicine, how I hope it can work its magic.
I’m so glad he has been able to come home after that long night in emergency.
I hope that wonderful team of specialists can work out great treatment.

LJoyce, that picture of the sand mandala just made my morning (a whisper of 120 cases here today. I’m hoping many of them are day 13 tests, but my heart has sunk).

Helen Kate, I am so like you with those dreadful tasks. Do you break them down into ‘what is the one little thing I do next’ and promise yourself a cup of tea in 20 minutes?

Neil, I hope the scales behaved themselves. (if todays reflected muscles holding extra water after your bike rides, maybe count yesterdays one instead).

Thin, oops. Those nasty creeping 100gs. How very dare they!

Charlie, I hope you rock your strange week.

Day before fast day for me

ciao

A quick drop-in. thanks Turn, and all, for your thoughts. Nothing more to report except the mass seems to be developing quite quickly, and is very noticeable now. Or perhaps now I know it is there, I am seeing it more. My OH hasn’t stopped talking since he got the first test results on Monday – that’s always a good sign he’s worried. He has gone off to pick up his new glasses which is allowing me to wallow in the serenity (of sorts) and take some deep breaths. He’ll be back shortly and I’ll be happy to hear the gate.

Well done Turn on your 66s. And Neil, breaking the triple digits so convincingly.

My FDs are a bit haphazard and my weight is creeping up, but I’ll focus on one thing first, then bring myself back under control.

HK we are all so different. I was quite envious of your financial tasks. I’m the planner in this family, and although I groan about having to do it, deep down managing money is fun for me. And like LJ, I’m a spreadsheet tragic (I think that is right, isn’t it LJ)

OK, washing to put out, and a quick spin with the vac. I always feel better when the house is in order.

best wishes friends

Good morning all

LJ, I love the drawing in the sand. It reminds me of the Tibetan monks who spend days making a sand mandala and then sweep it up and tip the sands into flowing water.

Beautiful sunny spring day in Adelaide today and I am taking any excuse to be outside – hanging out washing, poking about in the garden, anything!

Neil, congrats on the continuing weight loss. And that 3D street art is amazing. On Instagram I have started to follow David Zinn who does tiny whimsical pictures as his street art. I love this one: https://www.instagram.com/p/CSJ1GqcBeD3/

Turnabout, sounds as if you are doing very well! And nice to hear that the first day of spring is lovely for you all over there.

Thin, I laughed at your eating your way through the week! On Monday I ate my way through the day – I was unwell with a cold and felt really debilitated. Took myself off for a covid test out of a sense of civic duty – it was negative as I had expected – and ate my way through bowls of carrot-parsnip-ginger-chilli soup and a tub of leftover fish curry, and treated myself to brandy and dry ginger. It all seems to have cured me and was very enjoyable medicine!

Cinque, thank you for understanding so well the way those uncongenial tasks lurk about. Yes, I do employ those techniques of telling myself ‘just 15 minutes’ and often that is enough to get me into a better state of mind so that when the 15 minutes is up I find I can continue and get the job done.

FD for me today. Soup for lunch and chicken for tea and plenty of cups of tea and glasses of water along the way.

Lindsay, I do hope the morning’s consultations have gone well and that good planning has been done. Thinking of you. … Oh I’ve just seen your post. No consultations or plans yet, I gather. Nice that you were having a little moment of peace to build up your strength, but of course you’ll be glad to hear the gate. Domestic tasks can be quite comforting, can’t they. And how I wish I was a spreadsheet tragic!

Cheers
HK