Apologies for doing a bread post like it’s 2020 but I tried a new folding technique and my sourdough came out all perky so I just wanted to share.

Yesterday, exactly five years to the day after she matriculated as a new undergrad (pic 1), the daughter did it all over again before starting her PhD at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge (pic 2). Very proud of her (and the increasing amounts of black cloth she gets to wear as the years go by!)

This photo popped up as a memory and I can’t remember whether the daughter’s small bears were re-enacting Romeo and Juliet or Much Ado. Sometimes home education was a lot of fun…

At Henry’s annual vet check yesterday, it was suggested that he might be a trifle portly. He is processing the news.

We moved some furniture around at the weekend and it has taken Henry FOUR DAYS to work out that he can still get up on the windowsill he likes.

A heron feeling reflective in town tonight.

Today I handed over an eye-watering amount of money for the daughter’s wedding dress. Then I got charged £10 for a dress bag… I should be clear, I don’t begrudge a penny for the dress. The dress is gorgeous. But I begrudge that tenner like you wouldn’t believe.

This morning I chose a workout featuring ‘holiday’ music because I thought it sounded summery. Of course, due to cultural differences between Apple Fitness and here, I ended up exercising to Christmas music. I’ve spent all day in the university library humming Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Underneath The Tree’.

Punts, geese, sunshine, an absolute shitload of scaffolding - all of summer in Cambridge together in one shot…

Check out my new cookery book you guys. It's called 'Fuck It, Get Takeout' and it's just 300 blank pages that you can tear out to use as napkins.

A pair of red kites has recently started sailing regularly over the garden - they make such a distinctive whistling noise (sort of weeoo-eeoo-eeoo, maybe?) and I have so far completely failed to take a decent picture of either of them.

The sun is out, exams are over, it’s May Week, and Cambridge is letting its hair down…🎉☀️😎

I made the cats, who are much too hot, a fun waterpark! The ice cubes melted in less than five minutes and Henry mostly drank it, but it provided a brief diversion…

Extremely rare footage of Matilda actually sitting on her cooling mat. Normally she sits on a horrible lumpy cushion she insists is her favourite bed, and glares grumpily at everyone because she is so hot…

It’s Friday 13th, 28C, and I am making my parents’ 60th Wedding Anniversary cake ready for their celebration lunch tomorrow. Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Acres of it. Heat. All thoughts and prayers accepted.

Sometimes Henry is too sleepy for playtime so we balance things on his head to make him feel he’s contributing.

Once again I am an empty nester, as our baby blue tits fledged from the garden bird box this morning (it’s always during the late May bank holiday!). This pic was from a few years ago - this year’s family were much shyer!

There is consternation about an ice cream van…

The approach of summer in Cambridge heralded by our first sighting of the Pimm’s punt.

Memories just threw up this photo from 2020 where the daughter somehow looks like a candidate on The Apprentice who’s designed a particularly brutal range of shape wear.

My two idiots are three today! Henry is celebrating like this, but wants you to remember his glow-up from the sickly scrap we adopted…

Please note that the smoke emanating from the artic wonderland chimney does not signify the selection of a new pope the penguins have discovered fire.

Went to see this yesterday at the Bridge Theatre and it’s really, really good. Jonathan Bailey as Richard is fantastic as is the whole production around him - imaginative staging, gorgeous tailoring, beautiful verse-speaking… Loved it.

Yesterday I made hot cross buns which aren’t hard but are a bit fiddly; today I made nice simple chocolate cornflake nests because even if your child has left home and is getting married in December, it’s the law that you still have to. Probably.

For #Caturday, Matilda plays the laziest game of ping pong you’ll ever see.

Henry hopes you, too, are having an excellent morning.

Just dropping a nice Cambridge blue sky into your timeline!

This afternoon, Matilda took over the cushion where Henry always has his Big Afternoon Sleep. He dealt with it really well.🙄 (The daughter said he looks like a sad cat charity advert…)

Just Kitten Matilda getting weighed in a mixing bowl, and clocking up a mighty 794g…

We can upload 3 minute videos now. YOU KNOW THE RULE

Lions and tigers and bears! Oh my!! Hahaha that was fun. But on a serious note, they have escaped their enclosures. Everyone, please run.

Wordsworth would have properly enjoyed this lot at Anglesey Abbey today!

i’m at the love shack, but we forgot our jukebox money so they’ve just put sky sports on

Kitten Henry turned up as a memory and I thought he should be shared.

Not trying to argue that everything isn’t terrible, obviously, but this morning I clocked up a streak of 70 on NYT Connections despite the purple row being completely nuts.

So today I’ve lost a 289 day Wordle streak but also my daughter may have found *the* wedding dress, so it’s a mixed bag all round.

You take half an hour off for lunch to watch a show but will the family leave you alone??

I love this woman so much I named my cat after her! (My Matilda also closely associated with Anarchy.)

Just had lunch sitting next to a handsome young man.

They shouldn’t let the tigers at the zoo watch the news.

Please enjoy this Fennec fox I met today who was having an absolutely epic nap.

It’s been ages since I took Big Camera out for a spin - here are Colchester Zoo’s baby Amur leopards (not a good picture, but still! Blue eyes!). Also, an Amur tiger who minutes after this was taken had an unexpected snack when a badly-advised pheasant landed in the enclosure…😳

Happy Saturday! Henry says reach for the moon!

Henry bravely sitting on his sister’s favourite box. (She was upstairs at the time.)

Matilda would like to show you her mouse.

It is the daughter’s birthday today and time is weird. I do not know how we got from these two photos (the second one is not THE dress and the wedding is not till December BUT STILL) in the space of what feels like about half an hour. But we did, and she’s excellent!

Cambridge doing its best to cheer us all up today with its own take on the January Blues.

Well, looking around it’s getting even harder to find bright spots in the gloom (bloody hell!) *but* I have just paired some Bluetooth headphones without crying, and Henry has become addicted to The Traitors.

Not trying to argue against today being terrible, obviously, but I got a two in Wordle and Henry has a new box.

Most years I have no truck with this ‘Blue Monday’ business. But this one? Bluer than most. (Need to avoid the news - Radio 3 to the rescue!)