Mr Fox is 50

Today we travelled by train to Manchester to join in the celebrations for ClarissaFox's husband's 50th birthday.

Although the day started damp, the weather cheered up sufficiently by early evening for us all to eat outside.

This will almost certainly be my last barbecue of 2014 - an echo of the fun of the first of the season at nadinepierce's 40th birthday party five months ago on April 19th.

Exercise today: walk to the park with ClarissaFox and Tania.