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I've enjoyed a lovely combination of relaxing and working on interesting texts. Juno has been good company and Dora popped in a couple of times. Her owners are back from their long holiday, so both Juno and Dora will be happy to see them returned. More treats and cuddles!

The full retinue of birds were around today, but something has knocked the mealworm feeder off the tree and the plastic bits that keep everything together have snapped off, probably on impact with the frosted-hard ground. Another feeder bites the dust. The starlings were most unhappy that their feeder was out of action. The male blackbird with the golden beak shouted at me when I went to fill the feeders this morning – he's getting bold!

While working I listened to a few more of Fred's parent's records: "New Morning" by Bob Dylan, "Salty Dog" by Procol Harum, "Midnight Soul" (a compilation from 1967),  "Strictly Personal" by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band. The marketing information for long-playing records on the sleeve of "Midnight Soul" made me giggle – see the extra pic.

Fred and I watched a bit of an Age of Empires gaming tournament on MemTV. I can't quite believe Mem does this as a full-time job, and the competitors were so skilled. Mostly, I enjoyed listening to the commentary and watching the players faces as they play the game (and spying on their surroundings, hoping a cat might appear to disrupt proceedings, much like the cat at the Everton vs Wolves game today).

I haven't played Age for years and I'm rubbish at the military side of things – I liked creating the town centres and exploring the map.