The weather is still very warm but not as hot and sticky as last week, for one thing there is a constant wind which is pleasant.

Been interesting to experience similar weather to in the tropics, the last couple of times it has rained within an hour the blue skies and blazing sun were back.

That is not how it usually goes here, as once it rains that is the heat wave over, must be global warming that is creating these tropical conditions here.

We already have the mosquito’s too as we live surrounded by water and Amsterdam has a big heron population, most canals will have a resident heron.

Quite a few people can be seen feeding them herrings which they buy special for them, it is a grand sight a heron or a group will gather and wait by a house and eventually someone will come outside with herrings chopped up for the herons who wait in turn for their share.

Funny to find herons all around town when I first arrived in Amsterdam, in England only ever saw them in streams running through fields between Reading and Oxford,

Would see them from the train to Oxford, catch a glimpse and be very happy indeed even more when it was springtime and I also saw a kingfisher and hares.

Amsterdam despite being very built up still has a lot of nature and with the new colonies of parakeets has shown that there is enough to sustain a variety of birds and small mammals.

Woke up this morning to the delightful sounds of our neighbour Willes, she is moving from the 4th floor to the ground floor.

Her front door is under our bedroom window and she has a very distinctive Amsterdam voice, it is lovely to hear her yodelling to someone at the top of the road.

She is a lovely woman, very dynamic and always doing something for someone, people like her are good for the neighbourhood and we are very lucky to have her as our neighbour.

Woke to find my arms all cramped up and locked into one position really took ages to get my arms to unclamp finally the THC helped me to relax enough to ease the tension in my arms.

My right hand has gone a wee bit strange today with my fingers pointing in different directions at once which makes typing a different experience altogether.

Fingers keep including letters that totally change my text and sometimes find I have even drifted off and written something I did not mean to write.

Strange especially when the fragment of texts bears no relationship to the rest really none whatsoever.

Strange when that happens but am often aware that thinking can happen at many levels, so while I am writing this somewhere else my brain is also working on various ideas that I previously was working on.

Just like the times when a word or name will suddenly bubble up and sometimes I can’t remember why I have remembered.

Usually can recall why eventually but it takes a while to retrace my thoughts until I remember.

Life happens like that too it suddenly bubbles up like yesterday when Jean (fellow student at Middlesex) phoned me which was great as have not managed to speak to her for 1 1/2 years was good to hear her voice.

She is 72 now and planning to do another study, we both did the BA and MA in Criminology, Jean wants to do the PhD now which is excellent.

Having Jean in the class made life a lot more interesting as she is very questioning and argumentative which suited me fine as that is me too.

Delighted to hear that Jean wants to visit in September with Kieran, one of her sons, should be fun to see her again, she is a brilliant woman.

Really made the Criminology course so much better meeting Jean, we had some very good times together on the course, great intense discussions and lots of support for each other..

Shall look forward to seeing her again in September.

Once I had reassured her that I very interested in hearing how she was and did not agree with her that she should not talk about what has been happening to her as it was only piffling compared to what’s happening to me.

Turns out she had a problem with her hands and they were operated on but instead of helping they are now worse and painful.

She did not phone for ages as the pain and discomfort were getting to her but she did not want to burden me with moaning about her trifling problems.

Said the Kieran, who met me said phone Herrad sure she will want to know, sure she does not only want to focus on her MS.

He was right, I told her that Kieran was correct and boy was she relieved, ah the sweet woman.

No wonder she has not been in touch she did not want to upset me well glad she phoned yesterday and I could tell her to please keep bothering me that is why I am here for.

Happy days!

Hope they are for us all.