Miracle of miracles: yesterday the sun came out. This morning it's cloudy but more benignly so, and is lightening up all the time. Wind quite quiet. Walk round land with dogs - grasses grown during rain are yellow, prickly pears green and there are patches of a bright red succulent everywhere. Everywhere else shades of brown, beige, grey. Figs ripening in large numbers, but will wait till tomorrow for next lot of processing. Still haven't labelled first lot.

Things quiet otherwise. Handsome from Blackburn suffering from bronchitis and not at work, which leaves us watering. That's OK. Beloved and I on good terms, mostly - last night, it's true, he started inveighing against how stupid opera was. Better not go far along that line, it leads to other indictments of granny - it did - so I changed subject and all was well. How strange to be with someone who regards most cultural manifestations - with the exception, just, of art, with an A - as mere 'entertainment' as against life which is 'doing' as opposed to looking, listenimg, reading. Actually it doesn't matter. Explanations re profundity of eg, Cosi fan Tutte, didn't work with last scientist husband either, tho' he did adore opera in general. Unlike this one. 'How can all these talented people involve themselves with such stupid stories,' etc, etc. Agree that when opera is bad it's truly horrid. For the rest..... Don't feel I need to pursue these arguments to the bitter end any more - what it is to be old - or aging! - can quietly get on with loving what I love and loving my beloved without opposing them; so I do. Such differences then don't matter.

Butler report due out at 12.30. We shall be watching. Another whitewash of Tony Blair, I daresay. Who said yesterday, unbelievably, that as a result of invasion of Iraq 'world is now a safer place.' Can he truly believe this? 10 killed only this morning in a suicide bomb in Baghdad.

Went swimming yesterday. Picked our tomatoes. Made Moroccan carrots to go with fish stew made by Beloved. Nice evening, despite argument, which was aborted before it could truly spoil it. Think it was partly due anyway to my having failed to point out and let Beloved have the copy of the Observer acquired on Monday. 'Why do you always keep newspapers to yourself?' Here it must be said he has a point. Memo to Granny; do better!

To work. Yoicks. Grannyp