1. We’re watching the eclipse feed from Kielder but just for a moment, at the peak, the clouds clear enough to see it for real.

2. I dither. An unexpected day in the studio (and I’ve forgotten the stencil for the project that I meant to start) so I flit from one thing to another. I achieve lots of little things and it feels like a year ago when I was working on a dozen things at once.

2b. The broken section isn’t symmetrical but that’s what makes it look interesting.

2c. A short session in the woodwork room and some time sanding at home, and my sticks start to look like proper shuttles. I can’t help stroking them.

3. We swap doggy stories as the hounds wag their tails. His story is sadder but you wouldn’t know it from his dog’s smile. I hear a familiar tone in his voice: a fellow woolly back.