Sunny Saturday

I donned shorts and a tee shirt and jogged around the block to deliver prescription notes to the doctor's surgery this morning. A mile round trip through the streets. It's the first time I've done that in a couple of years I think. Running seems more natural to me than swimming, even though I felt somewhat ungainly on the outward trip, wary of broken pavements. My feet let me know that they weren't any longer used to this kind of treatment. Happily, I didn't get out of breath - I guess cycling has helped me retain my puff. No doubt I will ache somewhat tomorrow, but at least it's a start to building up fitness, without the worry of having to go to work and cope with the agonies of stiffness at the same time.

After lunch I went bargain car hunting around town for an hour. Amanda had her old reliable Clio written off last week, in the same way as we had our Golf before Christmas - a glancing blow in the wrong place doing more than just denting the bodywork. I didn't have any success, and was astonished to find that the base line price for 'old cars' at enterprises that trade in them is now over £2,000. A copy of Auto Trader revealed that sub £1,000 cars are being traded rather than scrapped, but the market is pretty small. I realise how fortunate we were to be able to replace our written off Golf at no extra expense. My aim is to ensure the same for Amanda.

What nicer way could there be to celebrate a warm blue skied early Summer day, than an afternoon walk across Llandaff Fields, to the Taff trail and then into Llandaff for tea? That's what Clare and I did when I returned from my mission. It's great to see our city's green open spaces so well used by people of all ages. The Cathedral West doors are left wide open to let in the sun as well as visitors.

Such a pity that Cardiff City's Premier League ambitions were thwarted this afternoon, with all the supposed economic benefits that's meant to convey, although for whom, I'm not sure. It's hard to see sport as wealth creation in the same way that manufacturing, research and new technologies are. Let's hope that our fine University will be more of a winner in drawing new enterprise to establish itself here, now the City is saleable with a desirable quality of life and congenial environment.