Wednesday 27th April, pm.

After a frenzy of activities I am sat on the sofa in the lounge. The clocks tick and Ruby breaths deeply on the edge of my awareness. Suddenly she decides to sort her bed out and pulls the throw around her. It's her way of getting comfortable: she circles into a nest and gathers the bedding around her.

Maureen and Tony left me a huge portion of Moroccan Lamb Pie (a Börek I think) which fit so perfectly with the butter beans and tomatoes, I'd baked a couple of days ago, that I could burst: this morning I weighed in at 12st but it'll be a lot grosser by Thursday teatime.

The French dry white wine has washed all its goodness into me and I feel I am drifting towards an early slumber.

Lola is at my sister's tonight which is a relief as I'm pretty exhausted from all the doggy activities, plus doing several things for my mother this morning.

Last year's Travellers have returned to the Wetherby Ings and I ponder if they ever would if it was still the mosquito marsh it once was before it was developed as playing fields?

I recall walking across it to the footbridge when there were huge cow pats and giant March flies.

There used to be a fair on the Ings, at least once a year, where I learnt all of the amusements made me vomit! Spinning around with their dizzying effect: Waltzers, speedway, etc, added to what hideous food was on sale: the after affects of either toffee apples or candyfloss, hotdog sausages or those burgers which came in tins. They made me throw up so I frequently that I went only on the Dodgems, the punchball, in the arcades, hoop or catch-a-fish stalls where there were fake £10 sellotaped to huge porcelain monstrosities - there was a stall with ducks floating around where you had to hook one to win a prize... I think I came home with a gold fish, on several occasions, and a vague feeling of being ripped off by the people who ran the affair.

Local older boys around used it as an arena to chat up girls and fight with another school's menace. I stopped going after I lost all money on The Eggs while being violently sick upside down.

The Travellers must've cleared up lots of loose change once the crowds had disappeared?

Another grey and cold day leading us into May: I wonder what is still alive on my allotment within this chilling late Spring?