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Good day, Elle!
I am just home.
It was heavy rain earlier but a lovely day now.
My d-i-l and me had forms to fill up.
All done, now!
My son works for a Government department and visits London regularly.
We say "down" to London!
Cycling under way now, it is a fairly hilly course today, but the Alps tomorrow, including the Galibier which is a brute of a climb.
That's where the riders will suffer in the heat.
I am home for the day now!

Hi, Rusty!
I think your heavy rain was just later arriving than ours!
We had a thunderstorm and rain during last night...... however, it did nothing to lessen the heat and humidity today.
This is almost unbearable!
Yes, it's odd , isn't it?
I have always said "up" to London, from whichever direction! even though London is "down" South.
I once looked this up....
I was offered varying explanations......."up" and "down" railway lines....an "up city", as opposed to "down city", theory.
And then an alternative theory that one always headed "up" to the capital from whatever the direction.
I do not know the rights and wrongs of it?
Personally, I cannot see that it matters, so long as the import of the sentence is clear.
(This is ringing a vague bell...have we discussed this before?)
Incidentally, do you travel "up" to Edinburgh, regardless of from where you are coming?
I have done all my jobs......and am now going to sit near the fan to cool down!

Hello, Elle!
There is a wee bell a-ringing!
Fairly sure up and down to London has been discussed!
I would say "down" to Newcastle or Liverpool, but for me, it would just be "to" Edinburgh or Glasgow, and "up" to Inverness or Aberdeen! And "up" to Perth!
Though "up" to Perth may be to do with "upriver".
Railway lines were mentioned.
But it hardly matters, as long as it's clear, surely?
A bit cloudy here now, but warm!
My grandson is visiting later.

Hi, Rusty!
No, I quite agree....it doesn't matter at all whether we say "up" or "down", so long as we get to where we want to go!
It is unbearably hot here.... a high of 30C this afternoon...and supposedly reaching 36C tomorrow!
I think after that, the temperatures will lower a little until down to about 26C for next week.
But we shall see......
How is the cycling going?
How are the riders coping with the heat?
You will be looking forward to seeing your grandson!
It is nearly time for my daughter to phone on her way home from work.....

Hello, Elle!
Cycling is.... not a lot happening!
A large breakaway was allowed to go.
All the main contenders are in the peloton and LouLou has just led them home, many minutes behind the breakaway.
I am wondering if the team road captains had a meeting and agreed not to race too hard in the heat?
But the riders were cooling themselves with bottles of water, and ice in the helmets etc.
And the Alps tomorrow....!
Yes, looking forward to seeing my grandson!
Hope your daughter phones!

Good evening, Rusty!
I hope you have had a good time with your grandson?
Well, if the slow cycling pace was corporately planned , then that sounds like a sensible move if the heat were proving too much?
I presume, though, it will be business as usual tomorrow, when riding in The Alps?
Yes, my daughter rang on schedule ...she does this most days on her way home from the office, although, of course, sometimes we are out.
But in that case, she will then ring later.
It is nice to chat, and hear her daily news.
Speaking of news...any word from the girls?
How hot will it be in Orlando, where they are staying?

Good evening, Elle!
Yes, my grandson has gone off to visit his Mum, now!
A bit of controversy at the Tour tonight.
Luke Rowe, the Team Ineos road captain, and Tony Martin of Jumbo-Visma, have been thrown off the Tour for "misbehaving" towards the end of the stage.
A minor scuffle took place.
Very harsh, indeed, especially with Paris not too far off.
I do not know if they can appeal the decision but I doubt it.
They have thrown Sagan out of the Tour in the past.
Good your daughter rang you!
Not heard from the girls, but I have not contacted them.
They contact Mum and Dad, and that's enough.
It is around 30C in Orlando.

Hello Rusty and Elle, and everyone!

I think the team directors may well have suggested a "go-slow"
type of stage today - Slightly boring to watch but sensible I think.

Tomorrow, in the high mountains, the riders might suffer slightly less from the heat as temperatures are always cooler up there!
Just hope there are no thunderstorms

Here, we are in a RED alert for canicule (heatwave)!

BTW the word "cloisonné" means divided in separate parts,
as it can be for the decoration of a jewel, strips or patterns of ceramics (as you suggested I think) - it can also be used when
talking about a large room which is being divided into two or three smaller rooms by a 'cloison" (partition)

I did not know it was used in English!

Hello, Pigale!
Yes, it was obvious the peloton would not race today.
A truce! I don't blame them!
There was nobody in the breakaway to threaten any of the jerseys.
Tomorrow will be brutal in the mountains.
I did know it was used in English, too, Pigale.
Anne Bradford has it under "enamel" in her dictionary, though.

Hi, Rusty!
It is cooler in Orlando than it is in London, today!
And tomorrow is going to be quite a lot hotter, here!
The advantage of living in a cold climate is that one can "wrap up".......there is a limit to how much one can legally "take off", without getting arrested!
I wonder what provoked the altercation between the two cyclists?
Maybe tempers were frayed by the heat?
My daughter says that lot of the staff are working from home because of the heat....she herself, however, thinks the journey to work is worth it for the benefit of the air-conditioning all the day in the office!
A good point?
I am catching up on the last two episodes of "Casualty", which I have never found the time to watch.




Hello, Pigale!
How are you doing?
Thank you for the lowdown on "cloisonné"
I had never come across the word until the crossword clue, yesterday!