October?

We abandoned the plan to have lunch outside yesterday because we couldn't find a space on the terrace to put the table in shade from the hot sun.  Ain't complainin' - I've had breakfast and lunch in the fresh air a few times in the past week.  This includes chewing my sandwich while pacing up and down the car park at the courthouse: I usually refer to it as the exercise yard. 

Back to art class on Thursday: I slapped a bit more paint on a little piece I started while we were in France, and am instructed by Miss that I'm allowed one more session on it, maximum.  I think that'll just about do it: there are a few mistakes to correct, and it needs a bit more light and shade.

We'd a trip to London last night for another 60th birthday party, this time at a gentlemen's club in Mayfair.  It helped that the railways were in a state of chaos as they cram in the weekend maintenance jobs before the weather deteriorates: trains from our neck of the woods were going into Victoria rather than Charing Cross, and that suited our purpose well.  Excellent do, with the birthday boy accompanying two operatic soloists at the piano in a nice medley of arias from Mozart to Massenet, including some favourite lollipops.  I'd never seen the cats' duet (attrib. Rossini) performed before, though I've heard the de los Angeles/Schwarzkopf recording often enough.  Elizabeth Llewellyn and Hannah Pedley are definitely names to watch: they both gave excellent performances of a very diverse programme.

The car is back, swept, washed and with a clean pan of oil, but otherwise unchanged. The coarse noise from the transmission is now said to be a 'characteristic' of that combination of engine and gearbox. I've responded with 'not good enough: if I'd wanted a car that sounds like an army lorry I'd have bought a Land Rover'. Watch space, but keep breathing meanwhile.

Our next brush with Trade is due presently: another of our kitchen window seals has failed, causing a build-up of condensation between the panes. The kitchen door is now quite unpleasant to operate, and is just within its 10-year guarantee, so the representative of Jokers Я Us Home Improvements is briefed to look at both while he's here this afternoon.  Might show him the peeling veneer on the front door as well.