We met two women walking four dogs, the two dogs on the left are Australian Shepherd dogs.

Mum is neither sentimental nor a hoarder. As both parents spent their childhoods and adult lives living in flats it was impossible to keep lots of “stuff” due to lack of space. They were never burdened by possessions. However mum showed me two letters she kept relating to me and secondary school. One was a letter from South Hampstead High School offering me a place and a full scholarship to cover the fees. The other was from Camden School for Girls also offering me a place. No fees were involved as it was a grammar school. The letter mum has lost (and which she told me she kept for many years) is the follow up letter from the headmistress of South Hampstead School castigating mum for taking the wishes of an 11 year old girl into account rather than accepting the offer at her esteemed educational establishment. Well done mum and dad for listening to their child. I remember being similarly criticised for allowing our son to make his own decision to eschew university in favour of starting work. You can lead a horse to water – then the choice is theirs.

The chicks have outgrown their accommodation and will move to their new homes later this week – maybe with their mother hens but they may be ready to fend for themselves. To be decided.

Very civilised and enjoyable,

The vet arrived just as daughter, Professor Rosa, was being interviewed on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour ( is this the pinnacle of my parental achievement?) about the law and the GRA (the gender recognition Act). You can listen on iPlayer it’s about 30 minutes into the programme. So the vet had to have a cuppa and a biscuit while he waited to test Lucy for TB. As it happens he had been listening to the programme as he drove up to The Gables.

He will return on Thursday to see whether or not Lucy reacts. Hmmmm!

We will receive the results before the weekend.

As I drove back from the nearby village of Keysoe, the sun was beginning to set so I stopped the car and took some views over the fields.

I got home and found that Jeremy had put together a new chicken house. Our birds certainly have deluxe homes.

By the time the sun has broken through the clouds it’s just an hour away from its descent. We have to make the most of every daylight hour.

Morning and evening Nigel accompanies one or both of us when we feed the poultry. He is like a puppy dog, following us around and even into the chicken runs.

The strange thing is that he never (or rarely) tries to chase the birds, even the chicks. Yet out around the rest of the land he is more than happy to chase wild birds, catch them and eat them and even manages to get pigeons. How does he know that the domesticated birds are not for chasing?