My mum comes with me as she wants to watch the kids, we get to the pool but the lessons are cancelled as there had been a power outage overnight resulting in the pool temperature being too low. We head to Letchworth leisure centre instead and I take the kids for a swim whilst granny watches from the cafe and has a coffee. The kids are good little fishes and enjoy a splashing around and swimming in the deep end.

We head home via the supermarket and I stock up on food for the week. I’m off beer whilst Julia is poorly and although it’s missed, it’s absence will do me some good. After lunch my parents help return Imogens room back to normal and then head home to Newbury. It’s been good having them here and we do appreciate their help this week. It hasn’t all been smooth, feathers have been ruffled on both sides but it is a time of stress.

For dinner I cook up a roast, I see it all as practice for christmas. A roast chicken with new potatoes, yorkshire pudding and 4 different vegetables. Team Lawley wolf it down and then start getting ready for the coming week.

That evening I catch up on the blog and put my foot in it big time with my Mum, it seems I’ve lost my tact button and am unwittingly thoughtless. After a terse email telling me I upset her and detailing some of our shortcomings this week, I quickly remove the offending text from the post and email an apology back. I am sorry for upsetting her, I didn’t mean to and now Julia is also upset (nice one Ross). I can’t sleep because of it but after a few hours stewing on it I have to put in proper perspective.

I don’t have the mental bandwidth to deal with this all now as well as Julia’s cancer and I have to prioritise her first. This is a traumatic time in our lives and at times I will be bad company, self absorbed, thoughtless, tactless, feckless and other adjectives ending in less.

I can only apologise and ask for forgiveness in advance. I will try to be a better person but when I fail do call me up on it.

Sorry mum x