Daughter Flu

I ring the girl whose mobile phone number L gave me. Unfortunately, sorry I mean luckily, the girl’s not the prize. The prize is a hospitality place and a ride in the lead car at the Tour Of Britain cycle race. I get to go in the hospitality tent at both the start and the finish. Therefore getting the best view of both and the presentation plus a free breakfast, lunch, tea/coffee on tap and a free bar.

Thing is I’d agreed to marshal, can’t do both, I will have to send them my apologies. I’m not as keen on the race car bit but girl’s can be persuasive (or should that be pushy), so I’ve agreed. Might be good but it could be anything up to four hours in the car and I could drive to the Lakes in that time, the western Lakes at that. In a way I’d rather go round the course again on my bike but I feel I might be out of my depth.

Pilates tonight, sorry I mean squash. You can tell we’ve given up on tennis by the sudden change in the weather. Those long summer evenings spent staring out of the window at the rain have been replaced by something called sunshine.

All the same, we mustn’t get our times wrong in case we get mixed up with the class that follows us. My opponent threatens to turn up in spandex. Thankfully he doesn’t but the leotard is a bit unnecessary.

Pilates in a squash court, I ask you. L pulled me on my use of the word ’Pilates’, she pedantically pointed out that Pilates has a capital ‘P’ after Joseph Hubertus Pilates. The spell checker did keep telling me about the capitalisation but I kept ignoring it. Why should Pilates have a capital when the more superior pastime of squash doesn’t... hmmm. My apologies to Mr Squash, should he exist.

L's lying on the bed when I get home but not seductively. She’s been struck down with the lurgy. I'm probably next, despite L’s kissing ban which I see the French authorities have now copied because of the rise in cases of swine flu over there. This isn’t swine flu though, this is Daughter flu and it’s still virulent, I can hear the accused coughing in the front room.

I leave L to suffer in peace, well apart from the generous whiskey and the two collie shaped hot water bottles beside her.