1. Continuing with the Heritage Open Weekend events, we join a walking tour of Manningham. John grew up nearby (with the tour guides as neighbours in fact) but had no idea about the secret squares and wonderful histories of buildings hiding in plain sight.

2. The walk starts at Lister’s Mill, high on the hill, and afterwards, we go down to Lister’s old house – Cartwright Hall in what is now Lister Park – for the World Curry Festival. We pass stall after stall of possibilities but are most tempted by the giant curved pans rimmed with colourful ingredients: naans, topped with meat (& paneer) and veggies – delicious.

2b. Her mum and I enjoy the little girl waiting at the candy floss machine. She dances in the escaping swirls and laughs as it gets caught up in just everything.

2c. The candy floss which we eventually get is super sticky but lovely – mine is lightly vanilla while John’s is a sweet coconut.

3. Z gets the joke I’m badly making about Australia being upside-down.

1. Perfectly fluffy bread – usually something we avoid but for bacon butties, there is nothing finer.

2. It’s Heritage Open Weekend so we visit City Hall. Last time we were there (for the planning meeting in July), we only saw the boring business end on our way up to the (albeit magnificent) meeting hall. This time, we get to climb the stack of steps into the belly of the beast. Built in Bradford’s heyday, the opulence is dazzling – but we’re taken with the small things: the pencil lines on the balsa wood model of the building, the strange (manual) composition of the councillors’ picture from a hundred years ago, and the teeny tiny metal loom.

2b. Our niece – a few years older than her brother and cousins and becoming more aware of the age difference every day – retreats upstairs to escape from “the children”. I take her a book I’ve bought for her, which steps through how to draw cartoon animals. We draw a fox and a leopard together – and are pleasingly surprised by the simplicity & results.

3. For their (34th) birthdays, we buy them little hexibugs. We buy some for us too and then spend a ridiculous amount of time watching them race around between obstacles on our coffee table. (This hypnotises Lily too.) We enjoy the soft thrum sound as they walk but later, when we’re gaming, we try to use them to make the most grating noises – rattling beer caps against ceramics is a winner.

3b. After being laughably bad at it for a few weeks, I win my first point at Ricochet Robots.

1. Leftovers dollops of curry.

2. Chatting to friends, old and new, online.

3. Before it gets stuck up a tree and worries me, I enjoy the cat’s warm grey fur.

3b. Lily has been dragging her heels at the start of walks recently but her speed picks up once we’re in the woods, then continues to increase as she smells more and more exciting things.

1. I finish my cup of tea just before the bus arrives.

2. Another full day of lectures, another day of people who are passionate about their specialism and are doing fantastic work within it. I’m deeply envious.

2b. The amplified splosh of water poured into a glass, with the mic still live by its side.

3. The city in the sunlight, children playing in City Park, a bus waiting for me.

1. When we had a larger group of chickens, it felt like there were a couple of cliques or an assorted rabble, but now it feels like the remaining trio are friends. It’s sweet how they move around together.

2. The pumpkins are growing strikingly, consistently orange.

2b. After a summer of monocrop gluts, I come home with a varied bag of fruits and vegetables.

3. Another British Science Festival event – this time at the Society of Dyers and Colourists. We explore their interactive museum, spinning patterned wheels to see how our eyes fail to keep up.

3b. The amazing detail on the textile printing blocks. The contrast of the intricate swirling designs and the cold, dark metal.

3c. We are in awe as she shows how cutting-edge chemistry can reveal the true colours on faded ancient garments. Later, we enjoy hearing how someone has teased information out of texts to interpret how colours were seen in the ancient world.