Only a few dashed words today. Our first internet-sourced B&B guests have been and gone, a father and son in York as part of a tour for a band featuring the son, his brother and others. It was strange but enjoyable having people in the house. Fringe benefits too: proper coffee for breakfast, and that usually only happens when my mother and her partner come to stay. When they leave my head is usually up in the caffeine clouds. Now there is a lull before a family party arrives. My father was 83 the other week and we usually throw a party of brothers, cousins and so on around the time of his birthday. One brother is arriving from Barnsley, the other from France.

Silly thought for the day: Cat food is often labelled as being for ‘indoor cats’ or ‘outdoor cats’, young or old cats or whatever. I looked but couldn’t find a packet with a label saying: “For indoor/outdoor/back indoors again cats, especially at 3am after yowling on the conservatory roof sort of cats. For mad cats that like to come in one window, go out the back door and return to the front window.’

But I must away, as no one even really says, as the doorbell is ringing.