26 January 2010
My first walk round the golf course for over seven weeks – Christmas, New Year and the severe winter weather intervening. I was curious to see how I would manage as IÂ really felt that I had weakened over this period. In the event I managed 13 holes and believed I could certainly have completed the round.
Thank goodness my legs are holding up better than my hands and arms. I am finding it increasingly difficult to do my morning exercises; to manipulate my electric toothbrush and to shave with my electric shaver — even with the  purpose made pouch which I have had made to clamp it to my right hand. In fact, I am beginning to dread all of these early morning activities as they have become stressful but I’m determined to continue to do them on my own as long as I possibly can.
The thatchers arrived today with all their paraphernalia. This is the full Monty this year, a completely re-thatch of the house and the office – horrendous expense, but we have no choice. This has to be done every 25 years or so with a re-ridging in between. In no time at all they had stripped off half the roof and remove tons of old straw, exposing a fairly fresh layer, before they started to apply the new long straw, something in the region of 16 to 18 inches thick. This job is meant to take three weeks.