British local advance east of Butte de Warlencourt – 100 years ago today.

It is my indulgence and joy to be working up ‘Diary of the War’ and adding to The Times Diary of the War excerpts from the Somme Day by Day and Les 300 Jours de Verdun : neither produce a satisfying read, not a story on the day, but rather fragments scattered across Europe (east, west and south) and the oceans.

What it needs, as I recall York Museum doing, is having a variety of ‘timelines’ geared in turn to a younger or older male and female, or perhaps the reference to a survivor, so that we see the war through their eyes.

Hurriedly an event is created for a talk Tom or by Sir Richard Evens on the ‘Pursuit of Power’ – too late for it to reap its rewards but I downloaded his book and am about to read.

Having walked Evie around Stanley Turner, picked up a repeat prescription and bought some food to feed me and an ill TBT who is at home rather than college, I had planned to spend some time in The Keep only to find I have lost my reader’s ticket and on getting there I find it is closed on Mondays.

Giving the need to feed TBT up I made a casserole with lamb.

Meanwhile, I grab at every book I might read, suggested by contacts and colleagues.

Meanwhile, in the back of my mind I want to be in France, potentially back in Bourg St Maurice.

Swimming: assessments.

Grade 4s followed by Grade 5s. So I impressed with their progress I push both groups to be assessed at the higher grade. The sessions are based on an IM, with dives and drills, picking out collective faults to fix. Though doing this for 14 years I come to appreciate now how vital it is to ensure that every swimmers knows and understands exactly what it is they are expected to do. With one drill, ‘backstroke hesitation’ I will now lie on the poolside to show how the arm should be pointing straight up to the ceiling; fir breaststroke arms I get them out and lean over a railing to show how they need to keep the pull in front of the shoulders and get the arms out smartish.

Home to the lamb stew, a Black Mirror short and Robert Twigger’s book ‘White Mountain’.