Friday 17 July.
We didn't go for a walk this morning but stayed in bed with our cup of tea and read the newspaper. Moira wanted to tidy up the house now all the boxes had gone and she could vacuum and wash the floors. I wanted to finish off clearing the cement from where the tiles were that I had lifted in the lounge, then relay them. After that we planned to pressure wash the gable wall of the house that was very marked and dirty.
After breakfast while Moira was doing her house work I finished off the chipping. I mixed up what I thought was enough cement to do the lounge and back bedroom tiles. It turned out there was only enough for the two tiles in the lounge and I had to mix up the same again for the bedroom ones. The tiles are looking very good and feel solid underneath. There was a little cement left and Moira used it to grout the tile I had laid in the bathroom a couple of days ago. We will leave the tiles I laid this morning for a few days to settle before grouting them.
When Moira had completed the house work I got the pressure washer set up and we began work on the gable end. The end of the small wall around the patio was badly stained with algae and even the violent spraying wouldn't clean it. We got some water and 'Handy Andy' with a scubbing brush and Moira scrubbed before I gave it another power spray. It was still badly marked and I am going to have to get some paint to make it look better. The main gable wall cleaned up not badly except for about a foot along the bottom that was badly marked, it will need painting as well. We had a lot of problems with the cleaner, the hose kept coming off with the pressure, it looks like we need to get a new connector for the hose to the instrument. Another problem we have is that in places the painting isn't very good and the jet just strips it off leaving the bare wall underneath. We have decided to buy some paint and touch up the bad parts next week.
After cleaning the machine and storing it away Moira hosed me down to get rid of the grit and dirt form my arms and legs. Then we had our showers and into clean dry clothes. It was then lunchtime and I turned on the TV for the cricket latest. Australia were still doing well though they had lost another couple of wickets in the morning session. They were about 430/3 at their lunch break. I turned over for the cycling at the cricket interval.
From the race profile for the 198.5 km from Muret to Rodez it shows another hilly stage that wasn't of any interest to the sprinters. There was a breakaway of 6 riders when the TV joined the race and they were in the process of climbing the Cote de Saint-Cirgue. The peleton was about 4 minutes behind and all staying together. Once over the top of the Cote the breakaway split and 3 riders broke clear. The peleton slowly pegged back their lead but it was very close and it was only on the final 600 m uphill to the finish when they were caught. The winner was the BMC Belgian cyclist Greg van Avermaet who out-sprinted the holder of the green jersey Peter Segan. The leaders positions remained the same.
As soon as the cycling was finished I switched over to the cricket. Australia had declared on 566/8 and put England in to bat for the last session after tea. They were on 26/1 when I began watching then lost another three quick wickets with very little addition to their total. Cook, the captain, was still in and playing sensibly and not taking any chances and survived with Stokes at close of play without losing another wicket. They had scored only 85 runs, they will be lucky if they manage to salvage a draw.
After dinner I change the sport to golf. The weather at St Andrews was bad with strong winds and rain. The play was delayed and some of the second round matches were held-over to finish tomorrow. After the sport was finished we watched the courtroom drama 'Silk', another in the series we haven't seen before. It was all right but its turning into a bit of a soap and the story line continues from week to week. Hopefully there will be some conclusion next week before we leave for Scotland.
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