Free Tuesday.

It's raining, but I don't care.

I've a couple of sacks of early crop potatoes to sow on Wednesday - February for harvest July - and a sack of potting compost to make a real start with vegetables for planting come the spring, £8.50 from Wilkos at the bottom of Albion Street in Leeds.

Begun to get the ball rolling with volunteering on weekends, and cutting back on nonsensical alcohol bingeing, I can help the Meanwood Valley Volunteer Rangers.

Will see Andy at the Allotment on Wednesday too - I keep calling Jonathan Morton at Leeds City Council, but I've not got through to him yet, it's been months!

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Suddenly Wetherby is so boring. It's always felt like a one horse town, but I watched myself drinking a Belgian dark hot chocolate in BAE (£3) and thought 'banal'. There is only so much banality I can cope with and today, in the drizzle, was making suicide seem like a positive response!

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At 2pm I walked up Deighton Road to Mark Lane, passed Kirk Deighton Cricket Club, and came down to Ashdale Lane to the back of King's Meadow; it was greasy with mud alongside where the field had been ploughed! I'll not be going that way for a while! Too much effort getting traction. Lola wasn't up for a long one until we reached the allotments on the crossroads by the Toll Bar House and then she dragged me to the fly over where she really wanted to go to Losh Pot Lane and along to Ingmanthorpe Grange: hilarious! She only got a week of weak hours with Phil so now she must spread her wings and head off to smells new! We got back around 15:30 and she was ravenous (such a glutton)!

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Mother and I didn't clash today, much, this morning she was whining about having no hot water or central heating! But she won't get anyone other than 'Mr Carling' in to fix her problem: loyalty in an era when everyone is in it for themselves; or is it a feeling of 'guilt' if she doesn't ask him - she's bad/being judged. But it's just central heating and there is On The Doorstep to provide someone localler than 'Mr Carling'. I've never know my mother not to call someone by their first name in any dealings with them. It's really like something from Jane Austen!

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No alcohol today and only 2 low strength ales in Belgrave yesterday. Busy all day Wednesday and was busy sowing seeds this afternoon. Perhaps another two pint day will be possible?