We spent a few nights in the Derbyshire Peak District staying in Bakewell. It truly is a beautiful place and with a bicycle it becomes an idyll. The roads can be busy and steep but any evening drink is well earned. Whilst there we saw some friends and relatives who passed through.

Factfulness is a book I can recommend. Written by a Swedish professor and (medical) doctor it, illustrates our general ignorance of what’s happening in the world by posing quizzes that you and other educated readers will get wrong; then he urges people to get the facts before deciding that everything is terrible and we’re doomed. One key prediction is that the population of the world won’t keep growing exponentially. He draws a parallel between Swedish family sizes in the 19th Century and what it is today. He sees that in 21st Century developing nations, where large families are the norm, they will eventually start to have smaller families, as happened in the West, as education, equality, health care and material wealth improves/increases.

As a sports fan I avidly listen or watch football, cricket, cycling, Formula 1 or whatever. Two very irritating bits of the vernacular that I endure through gritted teeth are the repeated use of the word ‘brilliant’. ‘Brilliant’ is Mozart, a cure for cancer or painting the Mona Lisa It’s not stopping a football, riding up a hill or merely running between the wickets. Frankly, I feel this is all part of dumbing down of who can provide a commentary on sport nowadays. The talent pool is wickedly low I think. Another irritant is the adoption ’super’ happy or ‘super’ pleased etc. This surely came to these shores by foreigners unable to remember the word ‘very’?

My father had a rough time, I recollect, when his musical heroes hit an age where their death’s quickly followed. It seems, as I am now his age, that I am experiencing a growing rate of attrition: Sinead O’Connor, Robbie Robertson, Tony Bennett and Don Williams have just passed. I think I’m in for a sad decade ahead.

The following photograph illustrates nearly 36 years of marriage. This line up greeted me in the bathroom.

The arrangement was collated by Anna who felt I had, ruinously, and wrongly, bought a surplus roll on deodorant at Lidl; such a heinous act needed bringing to my attention. I have to admit this mistake was mine; I already possessed two unused deodorants. My defence? It had only cost 55 pence. The days can be long in Acaster Malbis for women in their sixties.

Just as I was reeling from this incident I departed to the Cotswolds to lead a tour running from between Oxford and Bath and taking in Blenheim Palace, Stonehenge and other sights in between. My small party included folks from Virginia and Florida. The weather was staggeringly hot hitting 33°C on one day. My US guests were very tolerant of a bus with no air conditioning! It’s always interesting to learn what foreign guests like about our country and one guest was captivated by sheep. (I know, me neither.) As a parting gift I found a small wooden sheep in a Bath toy shop to give to her, much to her delight.

From here I hopped up to Monmouth to meet with Anna and my sister for a couple of days wandering around the Wye Valley. It’s a beautiful part of England on the Welsh border that I only discovered when I cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats a couple of years ago.

It would be remiss of me not to share some optimism. My team, Leeds United, look to be on the up as their player problems have been resolved and the new manager gets a grip. I’ll not be getting too giddy but hope abounds.