So much for a good night's sleep. Four youths chose the twitten to start copying a new rap at 1.00 am which one of them was playing on his phone. At one point they were all rapping at the top of their voices. My next door neighbour ended up asking them to stop because of his babies. They did, which I guess was nice. Would have all been quite funny if it hadn't been so bloody LATE.

Walking around town for two hours this morning. Boiling hot. Lurked in bookshops and looked at chairs and unsuccessfully sought a tin of exterior paint. Bought nothing.

Home and enjoyed listening to the first of an excellent two-part a dramatisation of the Name of the Rose on BBC radio. Later I decided to meditate with my special eyes-open Tibetan technique. After one minute was interrupted by my neighbour who had discovered a (probably stolen) spade in my garden. All these strange happenings don't make me feel very secure, and in some ways I am pleased Jack and Kate aren't here.

Resumed meditation but it made me want to sleep, despite my best efforts. I simply gave in and lay down and was spark out for a while. Then spoke to Mum for a bit who was drained after speaking to her Welsh neighbour.

In the absence of anything decent on TV apart from ghastly news from the Lebanon I found myself watching a The Lord of the Rings DVD. The orc-slaughtering is curiously comforting.