Warm.

A lot of high haze today so the sky wasn't as blue but with little wind it has felt a lot warmer. In the afternoon I was able to sit out in t-shirt and shorts watching youngsters playing in the sea.

I made two trips to town today. The first trip was for a routine mammogram in the mobile unit currently set up in Morrison's car park. As usual it was hassle-free and I was in and out in five minutes. Overall I have to say I'm finding the Welsh Health Service better than the English one. In England you get a routine mammogram every five years but here it is every three years. My next one at 68 will be the last one they will call me for but if I want I can still have one every three years after that by phoning them to make an appointment which I definitely will be doing. After the mammogram I did some shopping at Morrison's then went into town itself to collect the coursebooks for our Welsh language course which begins on Thursday. Finding the bookshop took me through a different part of Aber, mostly through back streets. I'd parked in Tesco's carpark and going out the back I was in student land. Grubby streets of terraced housing with the occasional pub or eating place. There have been a lot of comments on social media about the poor state of the town and today wasn't helped by the fact that it was bin day with bags of rubbish everywhere.

The second trip to town was to take Peter up to the hospital to be fitted with a 24 hour cardio monitor. I dropped him off at the hospital and went down to Lidl's carpark which has sneakily changed the free parking from two hours to ninety minutes. That was more than enough time for me to pop to Poundland (sophisticated shopping?) and then get a few things in Lidl. There's increasing talk of more shortages in the shops as not only is there a lack of lorry drivers after Brexit but now there's something going on with gas (not car fuel) and CO2 which impacts on meat supplies and lots of other things. While even Peter eats less meat now and I hardly ever eat it I've changed my shopping habits to make sure that I have one or two spares of items that make up our staples. That way if there's a shortage in the supermarket I'll have back-up at home.

The builder had to go early, to take his daughter to the dentist, but he still managed to make a start on rendering one of the utility room walls. (That's the garage on the left and the door to the drive and street straight ahead.) Another bit of good news, the builder is interested in the old terrace railings and the double gates in the front garden. The other builder had suggested we try and sell them but I had visions of the railings plonked in the middle of the garden for goodness knows how long. I think they're galvanised or something because even though they've been exposed to the sea air for thirty years there isn't a scrap of rust on them. Our rendering builder has a terrace which he wants to make safe for his grandchildren so hopefully it will work out.

Look what I came home with from the supermarket. Some cottage garden perennials and a double clematis. I am planning to visit a local garden centre soon but the supermarket plants are a fraction of the price of those at garden centres if you can find the plants you want. There wasn't a lot of choice in the 2 for £3 offer which is why I got two knautia. I love the name and will look for the more common dark red variety as well because mine failed to make the journey from Dingles to town. For the time being I planted the perennials in the raised bed until I can move them into the front garden.