Simple pleasures

It is surprising how the simplest of things give pleasure. Today, for example, our "London" grandchildren took great pleasure in collecting conkers and helping to make tarts with the blackberries collected yesterday.

This evening I enjoyed yet another game of chess with our 7 year old who this morning wanted to vacuum clean the house! No it is often the simplest things that we, and they, remember.

The photo shows them helping in the back garden before lunch.

Daddy-long-legs

It is that season again with lots of spiders in the house and plenty of daddy-long-legs. Luckily neither worry me. In fact, I quite like both.

One year we had 15 daddy-long-legs in our bedroom! I love the way these creatures just bumble around bumping into everything.

Yet more stroke after-effects

This morning my wife was talking about a road in our village. I could not remember at all where this road was. Most things I remember well, but it was as if this part of my memory has been erased. I am pretty sure this is yet another artifact of my stroke and nothing else. Of course, I wonder what else is missing! I need triggers to jolt my memory. Oddly, since the jolt this morning I have had no problem at all remembering where this road is. It is as if I needed the jolt to recall the memory.  Another thing: I seem to be far more emotional than before. Things that would not have made me tearful can bring on the tears nowadays. I am sure this is my stroke. Overall, I still feel giddy, still have problems with many thin drinks and certain things still exhaust me. To others I look perfectly well, whereas inside I still feel very poorly. In many ways if I looked less well I might be better understood.

More on the climbing FTSE 100

The FTSE 100 share index here in the UK recovered further today, presumably based on better short-term news out of China.

UPDATE 2004z:  The FTSE 100 ended the day well up, climbing 3.56% on the day.  People seem to think the crisis in China is over. Think again.  As they say, "we ain't seen anything yet". Batten down the hatches we are all in for a very rough ride. This will make 1929 look like a walk in the park.

FTSE 100 recovering?

It is too early in the day to be sure, but at the moment the FTSE 100 index is well up on the dramatic falls seen yesterday.

China is still spooking the stock markets around the world. Investors are worried by the slower growth in China and are wondering if its engine is losing steam and the impact this will have on the world. Lots of us are dependent on China as big pension funds may have invested heavily in China.

East Anglian Churches - blog updated

Last week we called at delightful Aylsham in north Norfolk on our way to Blickling (NT). We visited the church there and I have updated our East Anglian Churches blog.

See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/

Summer?

Unless we get an Indian Summer I think we have now seen the best of the summer weather. There has been no prolonged good weather all summer. Today it feels much cooler and there are 3 lows waiting to drop rain on us. We have had heavy rain over parts of the UK today. A few years ago we had our best weather all year in early October.