So the car is all better. It's handling better, sounds better, feels better. :-)

Our bank accounts are in intensive care :-S

The Builder is also OK.  He went for the results of his fasting blood test on Friday and his blood sugar levels are OK, his blood pressure is good, his weight is oh-so-close to his target, his waist measurement is not too bad.

I went to London for a meeting on Thursday and then met Freyja and a friend of hers for dinner in a ramen restaurant near the Japan Centre in Regents Street.  I took Friday off - mostly because I have found that when I get back home at a little after 10 pm after a day in meetings and roaming around The Big Smoke, I am not much use at work the following day. I figured that if I was going to potter around being not very productive I might as well do it at home as in the office :-D

Saturday was our Bishops' House morning. It was quite a pleasant morning and we had loads more visitors than we were expecting. And then we met Taffa, Gareth and Cally, plus friends Alex, Megan, Dylan and Baby Bethany at the Cross Scythes for lunch.  The Cross Scythes is probably Tabitha and Gareth's local, if you don't count the pubs on the main road.  The Builder and I first went in there a couple of years ago, looking for a quick bite before a meeting at Bishops' House. We took one look and walked straight out again.  This had the happy consequence that we found the Bishops' Cafe where we have continued to go when wanting food up around Bishops' House.  Not much to our surprise, shortly after that aborted visit, the Cross Scythes closed down.  A year ago it re-opened, refurbished, regenerated and with new people running it.  We've been in once for a quick drink with Taffa, Gaz and Cally. And on Saturday they were celebrating their first birthday with children's activities and a barbecue. It's not a food pub so we weren't expecting a Fine Dining feast.  But the burgers were more than acceptable. The wine was palatable. The company was fun. And the sun was shining.

So all is good.  And the enforced Extreme Austerity isn't going too badly.  We had a magnificent vegetable gratin last evening, not quite but almost all made from produce from the garden and allotment.  There's more left for today. And we have loads and loads of soft fruit:

Summer fruit cake with raspberries, cherries and blackcurrants