Barbecue tea: The Aldi Wagyu, Jersey Royals and Waldorf salad. Accompanied by a lovely Primitivo. We’re sat in The Grounds watching wood pigeons on the roof. It’s almost like Springwatch!

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s made gazpacho, chilled and accompanied by her fresh sourdough with amazingly rich Lake Road Kitchen butter. And a pudding! Mango and lime semifreddo, topped with dark chocolate I’m a lucky lad!

First barbecue of the season: a marvellous Chop of Barnsley, exquisitely cooked (even though I say so myself), with a proper salad with lettuce, cucumber and tomato. And Mrs.N’s whipped feta with pomegranate seeds. Accompanied by an excellent Douro. Welcome summertime!

Over the garden wall…alpacas are settling down and importantly not eating our hydrangeas.

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s made a chilled green soup…with all sorts of green stuff in it including peas, spinach, avocado, chillies and mint. Accompanied by her homemade focaccia (with gooseberries). We’re enjoying the breeze in the garden!

Luncheon: it’s #PieFriday. As the summer option of chilled cucumber and pickled fennel pie was unavailable, I had Steak Pie with all the trimmings…mushy peas, gravy, mint sauce and Hendo’s. Accompanied by a couple of pints of Tetley’s Best Bitter and in the company of an old friend.

Breakfast from the hotel buffet after an enjoyable couple of days in Leeds for UKREiiF…the revelation in this hotel is the fried bread: the guiltiest of pleasures!

Amidst the hullabaloo of UKREiiF Leeds, the Tile Hill cafe at the Art Gallery is a quiet spot to catch up.

Luncheon. Mrs.N’s done roast chicken salad with everything that needed using up out of the fridge…and watermelon and her homemade sourdough croutons. Gloriously fresh!

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s made celery soup, topped with crack black pepper and scattered nutritional yeast. Accompanied by freshly backed focaccia with gooseberries and served with a Mirival rosé. Light and fragrant…if only it was warm enough to have it in the garden.

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s sourdough, toasted and topped with slices of Iberico chorizo and mozzarella. Accompanied by fresh chopped tomatoes dressed in olive oil. Lovely freshness!

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s homemade sea trout pâté, with her homemade and toasted sourdough. Bread made with #LovinglyArtisan rustic white flour and water. Pâté made with fish…

A superb couple of days in Brum at the @rtpiplanners.bsky.social Independent Consultants Network’s (“ICN”), annual conference, with an inspiring group of experienced town planners.

Luncheon: air fried sweet potato with Longley Farm cottage cheese, topped with cracked black pepper and pumpkin seeds and a tomato and avocado salad. Fresh, filling and lovely.

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s done Guinea fowl spring rolls with sriracha, honey and garlic, accompanied by a red cabbage, carrot and sugar snap pea slaw. I’m being spoilt with seconds…

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s homemade black bread with smoked salmon, her pickled fennel, a lovely ripe avocado and a tomato. It was a case of smashing the avocado onto the bread then loading up with salmon, fennel and tomato!

Saturday Tea: Mrs.N’s pulled out all the stops out by doing a Madras butter roast monkfish, with prawns and loads of other stuff. It’s a Paul Ainsworth recipe. Accompanied by a white Burgundy.

Luncheon: it’s crab salad Saturday! There’s crab and other stuff…

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s made hummus…with veg. And it’s delightful!

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s roast tomato soup…with grains and finished with nutritional yeast and garlic flowers. Filling!

Morning coffee…on the road Leicester Forest East (on the western side…going northbound)

This morning, the car was camouflaged in the hotel car park…(we only found it because we knew where we left it).

Luncheon: baked beans on #LovinglyArtisan cheddar cheese and marmite sourdough, toasted and soaked with butter butter.

Morning coffee…double espresso (with a biscuit!) Farrers, tea & coffee merchants, Kendal.

Luncheon: it’s #PieFriday steak pie with mushy peas and all the trimmings (gravy, mint sauce and Hendo’s. At #TheGeorge Upper Denby Marvellous!

Luncheon: steak and eggs at #YummyYorkshire Accompanied by a lovely Malbec.

I believe they hide behind a wall and then sneak up whilst I’m taking a photo in the other direction.

Towards Barnsley, Thursday, 6.46am. Birdsong and mists. Fair to good. Excellent later….I believe.

Luncheon: I’m on a site visit!

Luncheon: with an old friend….calves liver, mash and onion rings. Food of the Gods. Accompanied by a delightful Fleurie.

The Lads were waiting when I took my morning photo, they had that eternal question of life: is the grass greener over the wall…

Towards Barnsley, Tuesday, 7.01am. Feels like an odd morning. The weather is from the east so I sailed down the lane, wind and rain on my back. I need to turn into the wind for my return…

Towards Barnsley, Sunday, 7.22 am. Cool wind and quiet….except for one distant blackbird. It’s a soul blackbird, @imcmillan.bsky.social

Tea…mackerel, beetroot and horseradish on toast topped with pink pickled onions. And I’m finishing off the Pinot Gris.

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s away, so it’s down to the fish & chip shop for me. A whale of a fish, a truckload of chip and a pot of mushy peas. Accompanied by a lovely Pinot Gris to cut through. Glorious!

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s sourdough, toasted and topped with mozzarella and chorizo. Accompanied by a tomato and avocado salad. We’re suffering from slightly under-ripe avocado. Otherwise this is a favourite.

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s done a warm salad with bacon mushrooms and other stuff! This is tasty!

Never complain. Never explain.

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s done roast parsnip, celeriac, sweet potato and ginger soup, with a couple of slabs of her homemade focaccia. It’s steamin’ with a ginger kick!

Luncheon: duck pancakes! It was slow roasted duck for tea yesterday, this is the left overs. Hoisin sauce, cucumber and spring onion. It’s a DIY job!

The morning bacon teacake )with brown sauce) - obvs), at Café Crème, Barnsley Bus Station. The best £3 I’ve spent for a long time!

Barnsley’s not looking so bad this morning!

If anyone said to me three or four years ago you will enjoy German and Austrian wines I would have said no, it will never happen. But this is brilliant: a Pfalz Pinot Noir. Just opened a bottle to have with a slow roasted duck.

Luncheon: we’ve gone all Delia…fried halloumi with a lime, garlic, caper, grain mustard and coriander dressing and Mrs.N’s sourdough to mop up. Accompanied by a cheeky glass of English Pinot Noir rosé. It should set me up for writing about crematorium then mowing the lawn.

Lunchtime espresso…

Luncheon: Mrs.N’s homemade hot smoked salmon pâté with her toasted sourdough bread. The sourdough’s made with a “new” flour: Warwick Bridge Cornmill, Cumbria, strong white flour with a 14.2% protein content (which apparently is very important)…

Morning training session at the cricket club…

Luncheon..,and a pud! Mrs.N’s made @nigella.bsky.social ‘s key lime pie. And not a crumb on any plate.

Luncheon: Grandsons are with so it’s food of Champions…fishfinger sandwiches. One with tomato ketchup, the other with tartar sauce. Magnificent!

And a statue of Commander Smith, Captain of the Titanic is in Beacon Park, Lichfield - one of the furthest places from the sea in the UK.