30th January

So much for my pledge to go out for a walk every day. Today was the first time I've been out since Sunday, unless you count shopping, which I do. I didn't walk to the shop, but walking around must add up to something, 'specially with all that stopping and turning, and going back again. Just goes to show you, you shouldn't publicly state these things: just get on with it, or not, as the case may be.

I had a few things to do the last couple of days: that's my excuse.

It didn't look like the weather was going to improve at all, so I managed to get out a little while ago. It's windy and wet, and very cold. It was frosty last night, and I think it may snow a little later today. The rain certainly felt very cold, and the wind's roaring round the house as I write.

So I managed my little loop in just over 32 minutes. I stopped for a couple of minutes, because I met nearby neighbours Malcolm and Fiona, who were out walking their dog, Hyper. Yes, really! A golden lab called Hyper. All I can say is she must have quietened down a bit since she was named. It's horrible out there,and the only people out were dog walkers and me. .

So half-an-hour is the benchmark now. And I managed all the slopes and uneven surfaces a lot more easily. I only have a little hip pain, as as result of my exertions, and my stump is fine. So trying to get out more often is working.

I've had no Internet access for a while: I was having problems getting connected, but I had recently upgraded from a 2Mb link to an 8Mb one - it is the same price now - and apparently interruptions in service are normal during this period.

Anyhoo, like a twit, while I was trying to figure out if there was a problem with my kit, I pressed the 'reset' button on my router, thinking it would just do a power off / power on thing. What I found out later is that it had reset all the settings to the factory defaults, so I had to phone Tiscali to find out the correct settings. They got it right on the second attempt: the first guy gave me the wrong info, and I could tell it wasn't anything wrong with the equipment, so I phoned back to get the correct gen. Voila! It is done! All is good, and I'm back in touch.

That was quite a panicky time, I can tell you. It's amazing how much you rely on t'Internet these days, and how much you miss it when it isn't there.