23rd August – Polished Shoes

Tomorrow is the big castle trip with Maureen, and I feel ready for it. I set out my favourite trainers and folded a cardigan for whatever the sky decides. My kitchen smells of scones, some round, others rather ambitious in shape. One has risen to the size of a small hill.

I saw Stanley this afternoon, busily rearranging his compost. He told me he has a grand plan for the garden swap: a rota, even a map of who grows what. “Like the Navy charts,” he said, “but with marrows.”

We laughed at that. I mentioned the castle outing at the end, and he nodded, still smiling, as though he knew more than he would say.

I wonder, what does he know?