Last Saturday (July 20) remained warm and dry but with a shower in the early afternoon. David went to Stonehenge with Oliver. Later in the afternoon Dot and I drove to Morrisons and bought food. I looked through some old photos. Anna is not well; so looked out an old sermon to use tomorrow. Dot was doing the prayers. Watched cricket and Tour de France, plus some athletics. Joyce has an infection in her thigh injury. 

Sunday was still pretty warm.  Drove to church and led service as well as delivering my repeat sermon, which seemed to go down well. Dot did prayers and also got a good response. Took Harriet home afterwards, then returned to help with our contribution to the street fair. We had a book stall, and one or two people bought one of my poetry books or the Paston walk book. Had long talk with Ellie: her views seem very similar to Kim’s, and she also comes from Huddersfield! Won some wine in the raffle. All seemed to go well generally. Watched end of Tour de France and cricket, and a couple more episodes of Tokyo Vice. Spoke briefly to Des. Paul left his car in the drive at 8.30 and returned about 6.30 with Holly’s dog and Liz – though to be fair he had taken her with him. It was the first time we’d really met her. Seems nice. Very tired at end of day. 

Monday continued pretty warm, though with a breeze. Linda came round at 9.45 and did our hair, following which I had a bath and read a chunk of To Kill a Mockingbird, which is brilliant.  Felt extremely tired after lunch (often do after having my hair cut), but cut some of the trailing plants away from the front windows. Wish I could manage more. Then I drove up to the Rosary to check on the graves, which turned out to be OK. Did some extra steps, mainly up High Green. Bit of a struggle. Cooked some duck, and Dot made a cake. Edited a short piece for Debbie and sent Ellie a copy of my sermon. Finished Tokyo Vice, which was very good but too long (10 hours). 

Tuesday was still fairly warm, but windy. Dry. Went through quite a few slides on the machine and transferred them to computer. Dot went to the shops, and my second parcel arrived – one of two books for Oliver for a graduation present. Both map-related. Tidied up my room, chose compline and then hymns for Sunday. Finished watching The Jetty, which was pretty good, though the lead character didn’t carry much conviction, despite being played by Jenna Coleman. In the evening walked to the Great  Hospital for Cake and Compline. Everyone except David (rehearsal) and Phil eventually turned up, despite obstructive behaviour by people on gate. Who are these people? And why? 

Wednesday was overcast and slightly cooler. Didn’t feel too well: very tired. Got an e-mail from Anne Coomes asking for Parish Pump articles by next Tuesday. Not the most convenient, as David arrived today from London. Nevertheless I wrote two articles today and started on a third. Dot spent most of the day tidying house. She has also done a dessert and a cake. Met David at station just before 6pm. Later shared FaceTime with Amy. Julia has had a fall and injured her leg: she is in hospital on IV antibiotics. I cooked salmon, potatoes and beans. Lay down for a while afterwards. Later looked at some photos on TV – David’s and ours. Earlier finished To Kill a Mockingbird, which was brilliant. 

Thursday was very grey but not cold. A few drops of rain. Finished my Parish Pump pieces on Sydenham, Malcolm Campbell, the Forth Bridge and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Had brunch around 11.30 and set off for Coventry about 2.45. Dot drove at first, and we swapped at Cambridge Services. Quite an easy journey, though plenty of traffic about. Arrived at Old Mill, Baginton, about 5.30. Had gin and tonics outside and received a message from Oliver with parking info. Then had meal, which was ok but very, very slow. David went to bed, and Dot and I did a walk round the car park – plus. Suspect two tables in restaurant contained graduation celebrants. 

Friday – the big day – was sunny and pleasantly warm, except in Paris, where it rained hard on the Olympics opening ceremony. We woke early and had a small breakfast at 8.15. Tired and not hungry, but otherwise a better day health-wise. Amy and Vicky arrived and we all drove to our allotted parking place together. Dave and Julia were supposed to meet us there, but parked elsewhere for some reason. Oliver came to meet us in his gown and we walked to the arts centre, where we found we all had a seat in the main auditorium.

Bit of a wait, then good speech by Chancellor and later by gaming tycoon who was a former graduate. MC was brilliant – funny and entertaining. Oliver came pretty late in the list (alphabetical order) but it was a great moment. Took lots of pictures. Afterwards we all lost each other but eventually came together. Evetts had something to eat in Pret A Manger while we watched the traditional throwing of hats in the air. Got a couple of good pix. Later the Evetts and Amy, after many photo shots, left for the Cotswolds. Both Dave and Julia looked a bit fragile.

We gave Oliver our gifts. Then we had lunch in the Dirty Duck, Oliver showed us round the campus and we drove to his last flat – quite nice. He emptied his stuff into his car with a bit of help from us, and then Dot, David and I left for return journey to Norwich. Quite a lot of traffic, with a few hold-ups, especially at Barton Mills. Didn’t stop at Cambridge Services but I stopped driving at Newmarket bypass services – very tired, and we got some petrol. Dot drove the rest of the way. Amazingly we got home in time to catch the end of street meet. Des, Chris, Mary and John. Had salad supper and went to bed. An exciting day. 

Saturday was still warm: had breakfast in the garden. David spent a lot of the day going through his stuff in the garage and reallocating it in a way that is both neater and more logical. Certain books are more important than others. There are CDs too. Garage now much more appealing. Des and Chris used our tickets to hear Rob Knee’s talk on Edward Cole at the Maid’s Head. Went down well. Today was our 56th wedding anniversary, but we both forgot until Dot got a message from Angela! Put a short piece on Facebook and got 32 comments. Thought about going out for a meal, but it was Norfolk Day, and the city would have been packed. David did a short walk. Cooked chili and watched swimming and cricket. Oh, and rugby. 

I have now been 79 for a week. How long can this go on? Norman Wisdom said that three things happen when you get old. The first is that you forget things, and he couldn’t remember the other two. I know what he means. I forgot to make a note of what I did at the end of Thursday and all day yesterday (the 19th), but after extensive research yesterday has swum into a kind of focus. I put it all down to the global IT outage which played havoc in so many areas – but not ours. Not even David’s really, because his flight from Toronto to Gatwick wasn’t affected, though the airport was crowded and there was a huge amount of traffic on the M25.

He eventually ended up at Aylesbury – transported by Amy and Oliver, who FaceTimed us later in the day to give us information about his graduation, which is at 10am on the 26th. I have therefore booked rooms at the Old Mill for David and us on the Thursday night.

Yesterday was in fact pretty busy, and also very warm and sunny. In the morning we took some stuff up to the tip, including Dot’s printer, and then some books to the church hall for a sort of summer fair tomorrow afternoon. Met Robert at the tip and at the church hall. Is he stalking us? Back at home Des and Chris invited us over for a drink (non-alcoholic) in their garden with Sarah, which was very pleasant. Later of course we had the street meet, restricted to D,C, Dot and me, plus Jonathan, who was in jolly mood: he has stuck an official-looking notice by the steps, warning that CCTV is watching. This is intended to dissuade druggies and drunks, but I’m not sure it does. We don’t really have much trouble in that area. As to the street meet, we started out on the pavement, but moved into the shade of our driveway, which was much more comfortable.

Going back to last Monday, it was mainly overcast but dry till very late, other than a few spots of rain. Walked up to city to complete my Cake-and-Compline trail. Successful, but got very tired. Dot went to Morrisons, and we made the beds together after she’d done some washing. Cooked duck. Watched Tokyo Vice then first episode of The Jetty, with Jenna Coleman, which was quite good. After putting rubbish out I spent a while talking to Jonathan about living in Aspland Road. On the whole, I think he likes it. But see above.

Tuesday was cloudy with some sun. A bit of rain in the morning. Sent off for SD card and tyre inflater. In the afternoon I drove Dot up to the hospital to see her friend Joyce, who was pretty good, considering, and had other friends visiting too. Meanwhile I drove to Poringland to see my aunt Thelma, who is 95 tomorrow. Took her a card and some flowers, but she was asleep all the time I was there – apart, apparently, from when I was outside her room as they came in and checked her. I was there for 75 minutes, and it was really odd seeing her more or less motionless except for light breathing. Spoke to her and touched her, but no response. Still, I was glad I went. Got home slightly before Dot and posted David’s British Museum card to Amy, who as I write (11.20pm) is on the M40 near Banbury. This evening Dot and I went to a DCC meeting at Graham’s and had a couple of sausage rolls. Debbie said a lot. Dot said much less but said it better. Asked Howard to look at our bathroom floor. Watched Tour de France. 

Wednesday saw a marked improvement in weather. Largely sunny and warm. Jude came round to watch The Chosen – Series 3:1. I went with her to church for Bible study: Dot followed. Ellie, Jude, Steven, Debbie. Bit hairy in view of Colossians 3:18ff, but put across what I thought was a sensible interpretation. Drove home – parcels arrived, and so I pumped up tyres, which were all about 6psi down. Hardly surprising in view of the length of time I had left them unpumped – and reassuring, in that they were all down by about the same amount. Spoke briefly to John while I was doing it, and to Mary : it’s Bob’s birthday tomorrow. Dot left her phone at home (and her glasses); so no way of knowing what she was up to. Cunning. Eventually she showed up after taking the long way home along the riverside path. Later I went for a much shorter walk up to Bishop Bridge and then back along the riverside path, plus a bit on the end, while Dot gardened. Had a chat with Des on return and later Claire called with a birthday present – a jar of gooseberry jam. Terrific! Watched Tour de France and a couple of episodes of Tokyo Vice. David FaceTimed about his forthcoming visit plus a chat about memories. 

Thursday was warm and dry. A little cloud. Dot spent a lot of time in the garage, partly finding books to take to church for sale and partly getting stuff ready to take up to the tip tomorrow. I had a go at my new slide scanner and managed to get it to work all right – at least I got some pictures on to the computer. Will try a few more in the next day or two. Cut a few strands of clematis (or whatever it is) away from the kitchen window. Would like to do more extensive cutting, but Dot likes the look of it. Bridget came to clean as usual. 

This is an exciting week, with David due to arrive in the UK at the end of it. Today (July 15) we are making the beds – or at least Dot is, with a little help from me. But already something unexpected has cropped up: Dot’s friend Joyce, whose husband Ivan died not long ago, has fallen in her bathroom and broken her hip. After managing to alert the neighbours by hitting the door with her stick (oh yes, she did) she has been taken to hospital, and Dot is planning to visit her. We were alerted by Fred this morning.

Last Thursday (see earlier post) it stayed dry in the evening. Kim came round late afternoon and stayed for a chat while Bridget left and Dot got ready. Then Dot and I walked to the Greens, where we had supper with them and the Bowers, plus Vicki. Derek seemed much better than I expected. Very nice meal – excellent fish pie – and good conversation. We walked home via St Faith’s Lane just after 10.30pm. Right foot hurting quite a lot. Watched small bit of Tour de France and went to bed. 

Friday was my 79th birthday. Unbelievable. Overcast, cooler and quite a bit of rain, especially in the evening.  Nevertheless we managed to walk up to Bishop’s for lunch – a surprise from Dot. Really nice meal, beautifully presented. Afterwards walked down to Scandinavian shop on London Street and then home as it started raining. Earlier I had opened presents in bed: books from Phil and Joy, chocs from Anne, wine from Kim and chocs, clothes and sweets from Dot. David sent me a slide copier to put old pix on computer. The Prime man bringing it wanted a code, and Dot had to ring David to get it (about 6.30 in Canada: he had been about to ring us). Watched a few things on TV, including cricket and Tour de France. Raining at 5.30; so we invited neighbours round. Des, Chris, John, Mary came: Dot served Prosecco. At end of day had to retrieve papers that Dot had put in wheelie bin. Got quite wet. 

Saturday – Didn’t get wet. Stayed in all day. Weather overcast but only spits of rain on windscreen as Dot went to garden centre and bought new squirrel-proof bird feeder, plus some plants. Both of us got up late, and I got a late card from Heather and Simon, who have moved. Also had a conversation with Stephanie, who I rang by mistake while checking when her birthday was (15th). Looked at new slide copier but it does seem to need a card: I’ll check properly later. Watched a bit of Wimbledon (ladies’ final and men’s doubles) and both of my preferred player(s) won. Unusual. Cooked salmon and walked a lot in kitchen, reaching 4000 steps. Wrote a bit more of treasure trail. 

Sunday was overcast but dry. Neither cold nor hot, like the Laodiceans. Drove to church and found a convenient spot in Sussex Street. Played guitar with music group, in this case Martin, Dot, Phil , Adrian and someone Adrian brought – Daniel, who may be Sufi. Liz took Holy Communion and preached. Quite a few absentees, for example Howard and Anna, Matt and Amanda, Jenny, Steven… Total of 15 present. Took Ray home again, but Harriet was also absent. Dropped in birthday card for Stephanie on way home.

After lunch caught a bit of the Wimbledon men’s final, won rather easily by Alcaraz against Djokovic, who was very generous to him afterwards. They seemed to like each other, which was nice. Princess of Wales made a rare public appearance – looked very thin. Later of course watched Euro24 final, which we lost 2-1 to Spain by playing negatively, as we had done throughout the tournament. Palmer came on and scored, but too late. Just before it started Bridget and David came to pick up their car after their visit to Edinburgh, and asked for advice about roof repairs. We said yes. Don’t know if that was the right answer. 

Today is Thursday, 11 July, and although it’s reasonably mild, it’s a bit chillier than it has been, and there has also been quite a bit of rain. This morning I decided to visit my brother and deliver him and Joy a bottle of wine and some chocolate for their wedding anniversary tomorrow. I got a link to their son Sam’s sermon on Sunday and a cup of tea. On the way home it rained quite heavily in the Lenwade area. It was dry in Norwich, but by the time I went to get some petrol after lunch, it was raining here. Why hadn’t I got petrol on the way home? Because when I changed trousers this morning I forget to switch my wallet, and so had no money.

Later Bridget came to clean, and Anne dropped in with what I suspect is a present for my birthday tomorrow. We happened to watch the women’s semi-final at Wlmbledon between Paolini and Vecki, which was the sort of match you didn’t want either of them to lose. Unfortunately (or not) Vecki did.

Last Friday, the 5th, was warm but mainly overcast; dry until late evening, when it rained hard. My new adaptors arrived and fit this time. Had an early lunch and drove to Christ Church at Eaton, where after much setting up I gave my talk on my experiences at the EDP.  Hard to use mike, read my script and read slides at same time, but other than that it went very well, and I got good feedback. About 20 people there in all. Organised by Bridget. Mike and Amanda came and a couple of people from our Taize group (Steve and Jane). Tea and biscuits afterwards. Had been feeling pretty rotten beforehand but took various pills and was all right. Afterwards lay down for a while, then went out for street meet. Des’s sister and her husband were there: also John, Jonathan, Matt. Mark is away. Forecast rain held off. Dot cooked excellent sea bass and we watched football and tennis. France beat Portugal on penalties after dire match, and earlier Spain beat Germany 2-1. Radicanu won again. 

Saturday provided the odd shower, but was reasonably warm. Complicated day. Made sure my sermon was Ok. Drove Dot to St Andrew’s, Eaton, for orchestra rehearsal at about 3.30pm and returned home to watch England play Switzerland in quarter-finals. Cooked bacon and eggs at half-time. England were a bit better but not interested in actually shooting till they went 1-0 down with about ten minutes to play. Then Sako scored with an excellent shot from the right. I had to leave before extra-time, but I suspect they had their eyes on the penalty shoot-out, on which apparently they had done a lot of research and practice. They just avoided losing before that and won the shoot-out 5-3; so that worked well.

I discovered the result while Dot’s concert was in progress. Excellent concert, despite it being music from shows and films, which is not my favourite. Switched seats at interval to sit with Angela and Donna and had a good view of Dot, for a change. Also there: Adrian and Jane, David and Bridget, Bernadette Wapshott and her husband, plus of course Neville and Graham. Spoke to several members of the orchestra, including Mary and Yvonne and her husband, who are Scottish. I had parked quite a way from the church; so Dot sat on a bench by the bus stop while I fetched the car. City centre quite crowded, of course. 

Sunday was mixed. Started fine and a bit windy, but dry until about 6.30, then thunderstorm as I left for poetry at the Seagull. Heavy rain later at Lowestoft too. Large attendance at Seagull, including, surprisingly, Liz and David Cannon, who were staying at a local hotel. Liz read three poems – one a very good one about their marriage, based on Naming of Parts. Read five poems –Long Lens, Bungalow Lane, Wildlife, Plain Sight and Holy Island – and the evening didn’t finish till nearly 10.30 – far too late. Home around 11.10pm. Earlier went to church and I did sermon, which went quite well, I think. Dot spoke to Addi afterwards, and Abbay – she’s doing a good job. Dot, I mean. Took Harriet and Ray home again. Harriet still has car clamped but is now paying the fine; so hopefully it will be sorted out soon. Phil and Sharon are trying to fix mike. Caught up a bit on TV in the afternoon, and I cooked some steaks before leaving for Lowestoft. Radicanu out, having previously dropped out of her scheduled mixed doubles with Murray. 

Monday was mainly dry, but rain in late evening and overnight.  Frustrating day, really. Caught up with blog and e-mails in the morning. In the afternoon Anne came round to see Dot, and I went out. I posted card to Roger Mason (birthday) , then started planning out Treasure Trail for C&C group, starting at the Cathedral. At some point, either before I left or during the walk (though I can’t imagine where or how) I lost my glasses and haven’t been able to find them. Good job I bought three pairs. Dot came out to meet me by the big lawn in front of the deanery, and just after she got there, Eleanor arrived with dog. Walked down to river with her and then home, by which time  I was quite tired. Search for glasses yielded nothing. Even rang Anne to see if she’d picked them up by mistake. Watched some tennis and the second episode of Tokyo Vice, which began to make sense.

Tuesday was overcast but mild: rain in the evening. Woke up quite late. Put a few things on Diderot. We went to Morrisons and got some food and plants. In the afternoon I took Dot to Anna’s for a violin lesson and on the way home dropped in at the Cathedral, just in case my glasses had been handed in. Checked with welcome person, who directed me to the verger’s office, where they took my name and phone number. Also retraced steps from yesterday, but no glasses. Didn’t really think there would be. When I got home I walked up to sorting office to post birthday card to Roger. When Dot got home (walking) we watched a bit of Wimbledon. I had done the first few verses of the Cake & Compline trail. Think it works. Cooked eggs, bacon and sausages, and we watched the first Euro24 semi-final. Spain 2 France 1. First half was excellent, but then Spain did an England and it got a bit tedious. Watched Tour de France highlights as usual. 

Wednesday – Quite mild and mostly dry. Jude came round to watch The Chosen as usual, and afterwards I drove to church but had to leave the car up by Wensum Park and was five minutes late for Bible study. Dot and Jude came in a few seconds later. Discussed hymn preferences before looking at passage. Debbie disappeared; so it was just Dot, me, Steve and Jude. Ellie was otherwise engaged. Went fairly well. Dot stayed for Taize. In the evening Dot and I drove to Wensum Valley hotel for the Sillars summer party. Pretty good – excellent buffet, and we were able to sit outside for drinks first. Spoke to Penny, Mary and Caroline , and Vicky and Anthony, but mainly to Steve and Yvonne, the bass clarinetist. They’re Scottish, and we had quite a long chat. All punctuated by roars from the bar when England score or thought they had. Semi-final of Euro 24 ended 2-1 to England (against Netherlands). Saw highlights when we got home. Early in the evening Debbie rang about a poem being used by Mike on the new new church website – still don’t know which one it was. Ho hum. (Now I do – Thursday: it was The Nature of Reality, from my Waving from a Distance book. I had to look it up.)

Quite warm and dry on Saturday, June 29. Very busy day. Judy came early to drop off her car to take train to London to see her niece.  But not before Colin (and Jordan) arrived to cut the hedge (£160). Also trimmed ivy and fixed stone at corner of wall. I got cash out to pay them. Later I spent a lot of time and effort rearranging cupboards in both main bedrooms, checking loft for projector (fail) and finding slide scanner underneath desk in study. Got rid of old medical stuff and put current items in order, making room for music books in cupboard and tidying top shelf in my room. Discovered I have two full boxes of catheters which should last indefinitely. Well, almost.

Watched Switzerland beat Italy 1-0 and then a ridiculous thunderstorm-interrupted game in which equally ridiculous refereeing made sure Germany beat Denmark 2-0. Denmark had good goal disallowed and Germans were awarded non-penalty. Also saw excellent first-day highlights of Tour de France and checked over talk I’m giving to Bridget’s church group. Not happy about it because I can’t get clear idea of how technology will work. Slide scanner didn’t work either. Old technology. 

Sunday started wet but improved. A bit cooler. Went to church and led service – did prayers as well. Was originally supposed to be a joint Communion with St Luke’s, but no clergy available, and only one person came from St Luke’s because Melissa was being ordained, and I think everyone went to that. Howard preached. Had chat with Amanda about how we met our other halves. Took Ray and Harriet home: he seems to be getting worse and she still has her car clamped.

Quite a long chat with Michael, our neighbour, about walking and politics. Watched England scrape through against Slovakia after equalising in the 96th minute and then scoring again in the first minute of extra time. Still pretty dire until subs came on. Also saw Tour de France highlights and a bit of the Spain-Georgia match, which Spain won 4-1. Quick FaceTime with David: Sophie had a seizure, but she seems to be OK now. 

Monday was overcast but dry till evening, when there was a fair bit of rain. Mark has left for three weeks with his ship, off Australia. I have found the projector and think I can buy a connection that would work. However David Archer has come up with some other suggestions, most of which I don’t understand. To be safe, I have prepared a different talk which doesn’t require technology. Tried them both out today – the latter with Dot as audience. Spoke to David briefly on FaceTime, and he agrees about slide scanner – probably out of date. Dot got pills from chemist and bought some more plants.  Watched France scrape through 1-0 against Belgium and then Portugal likewise against Slovenia. The later defended brilliantly but couldn’t shoot. As a result Portugal won 3-0 on penalties. 

Tuesday was a bit cooler. Overcast mainly, rain very early. Drove to the Archant breakfast – food not quite as good as usual, but Robin and Shelagh were there, as was Tricia. Robin had stitches and bruising on his face: looked very nasty but he functioned ok! Brian has also fallen over but is ok. Dithered around in afternoon and actually went to sleep. Ordered connectors/adapters for talk on Friday but don’t think they’ll be necessary. Went to the church  (Christ Church Eaton) this evening for a talk on labyrinths which was surprisingly interesting, given that public speaking was not one of the leader’s gifts. About 15 there and we took Des, who had seen the notice in our window! While there checked iPad with projector – or at least David Archer and his colleague Julie did. Seemed to work ok.

Saw a bit of football and tennis. Both British No 1s won – Katie Boulter and Jack Draper (both lost in next round). Andy Murray decided not to contest singles in view of his many infirmities. Turkey beat Austria 2-1 thanks to a brilliant last-minute save by Turkish goalkeeper , and the Netherlands beat Romania 3-0. Dot feeling very tired – head still funny  But she did sort out a lot of the garage and a cupboard in the kitchen; so…

Dot was a lot better on Wednesday. Cooler, overcast sort of day with splashes of rain, but nothing much. Not in Norwich anyway. Judy came round and we watched 2:7 of The Chosen, then I drove up to church to lead Bible study. Dot thought she’d stay at home and rest. Judy joined the study, and so did Debbie, Steven, Ellie and Phil. Went much better than last week.

After lunch Dot walked up to the dentist and got a clean bill of health, plus an actual bill of well over £100. When I walked up (late, because I’d been checking my new connectors and found that neither of them fitted) I just managed to get there in time. Got prescribed some new toothpaste and I persuaded him not to clean my teeth, which I think causes more trouble than it cures. He did an x-ray, which revealed nothing seriously wrong. Receptionist in jolly mood.

Met Dot in John Lewis afterwards, and she may have bought me a birthday present. Walked home and felt completely knackered when I got there. Phil said Clare had had a similar head to Dot and it eventually went away (try not to picture that). Ordered some Grove Books for the group. Watched a little bit of tennis (win for Radicanu), and then cleared up while Dot went to orchestra. Prepared connectors for return to Amazon. After Dot got home watched Mark Cavendish win brilliant sprint which made him winner of most stages in the Tour de France – ever! 

Thursday was quite a tiring day: dry but mainly overcast and breezy. Got up fairly early and sent back stuff to Amazon (wrong adapters), then picked up pills from chemist. At various points during the day wrote my sermon (though it may not be quite finished) and chose hymns. Helped Dot catch up with her puzzles. Bridget came and cleaned for an hour, and Sarah popped over to return cake container: she seems ok. Dot and I drove up and walked a bit to register our votes (for two different people). I ordered what might be the right adapters from Amazon. Watched some tennis – Andy and Jamie Murray being knocked out of doubles. Had a long FaceTime with Amy about her concert, her health and other things. And last but certainly not least – Oliver got a first at Warwick. Brilliant!