The day seems to make the most sense through the people in it, especially Atanas Janackov, Deimantė Kavaliauskaitė, John Taylor, Pedro Ferreira, Suzana Janachkova. The calendar also placed some firmer structure around the day, including Veronika and Hugh @ ours.

The cleaner arrived at 10:30, and I spent the next three hours trying to work around her. She hoovered, mopped, and dusted, and I retreated to the kitchen table with my laptop. Every time she moved rooms I got distracted. At 13:30 she was done, and the flat smelled of bleach. While she worked, I was deep in messaging with Deimantė. She's run herself ragged—working non-stop since last summer, picking up extra cleaning jobs from people like Em and…

Anna came through the door with a fresh version of the Jessica problem. The two girls had built a shelter together at playtime — two boxes tall, big enough to be something — and then Jessica started blocking her from coming in. Sometimes she spread her arms in a star pose at the entrance. Anna stood there telling us about it, not crying, but clearly bothered. We talked it through with her. We told her that Jessica might be doing it for attention,…

Woke up with a sore throat from all those BBQs over the weekend, but there was no time to dwell. I put together a carrier bag for school work while the kids got ready. Then we set off for a family walk in the park. The morning air was crisp, and we watched a heron by the pond. The conversation drifted from local wildlife to politics—someone mentioned the new UK Prime Minister taking office on Monday, and Trump's negative comments about him. We al…

I got the tongue biopsy results back tonight – normal, no cell changes. Huge relief. I messaged Janice to let her know, but as always, our conversation quickly turned to Anna. She's been regurgitating undigested food again, twice today. The second time was her breakfast, just as we were rushing to get her to school. I told Janice about the heart ultrasound scan tomorrow at 1:30 – we'll both be there. Janice is worried Anna isn't eating enough, an…

Woke up with my throat on fire again. It’s been nagging me for days, but today it felt worse. Checked my oxygen levels—93%. That’s low for me. Probably from all the cheap booze and greasy food over the weekend. I also took a spill earlier, nothing serious, just stumbled and caught myself on the doorframe. My knee aches. I had planned to clean the office from 5 to 6, but I wasn’t sure I’d have the energy. Around 4pm I drove to Rawmarsh to return …

Naomi's birthday party at AirHop Adventure in Sheffield. Anna and I got there just after 11:30. I spotted a few friends' cars in the carpark – the usual crowd. Inside, the kids were bouncing everywhere. I ended up in a corner with another dad, struggling with a baby car seat. He was trying to fit an ISOFIX base but the seatbelt method looked simpler. We traded tips but neither of us really solved it. Later, I gathered a few kids and told them ab…

I'm at Top Jump in Sheffield, watching the kids bounce around at Jessica's birthday party. It's loud, but I feel remarkably calm. My wife is pissed off that I didn't come home last night, but I'm fine with that for now. Janice, my mum, is here—she's 52 and her partner Ivan is 35. That age gap gets talked about a lot. Anna wrote a card to Jessica that was so sweet, said she's the best sister ever. Makes me think about how the kids handle our argum…

This morning, before I even had coffee, a calendar reminder popped up: Anna’s homework due today. I made a mental note to check with Suzana later. Around 12:30, Pedro Ferreira showed up at the door with about five kilos of meat – he was heading to a party and dropped it off. We chatted briefly, then he left. At work, the office was buzzing. We talked about self-checkout machines and cocktails until the conversation shifted to road issues and car…

The morning started with a calendar reminder for a punnet of grapes, but before I could even think about that, my phone was buzzing with messages from Deimantė. She's desperate to sell her car – dodgy remap, AC issues, fuel injectors – and wants my help coordinating everything. We went back and forth: Aurumas offered £1,300, but she's hoping for around £2,500 through Carlos. That money would be a deposit for a replacement. She's also got cleaning…

Sarah called me over to her car first thing. There was a fresh scrape on the rear wheel arch, and we spent the next half hour examining it and pulling up the camera footage. We debated whether it was a trolley, a pump truck, or maybe a van that clipped it in the car park. No clear answer yet. I mentioned BMW touch-up paint as a cheap fix, but Sarah wasn't keen. The whole thing felt trivial compared to the messages waiting on my phone. Deimantė h…

Anna was meant to be on the school trip to the park at 1pm, and I hope she went, but the day got swallowed by the car before I could think about it properly. The mechanic came round about the braking scare – the one where the car shakes under braking at 30 and the pedal sometimes goes hard or doesn't respond. He said the discs are worn, lipped, possibly warped, and the pedal feels spongy. New pads, new fluid, and only drive it locally until that'…

The day seems to make the most sense through the people in it, especially Anna, Anna (child), Anna (daughter), Behnam (father), Deimantė Kavaliauskaitė. From what was captured in conversation, I spent time with or around other people while dealing with Anna's hospital visit and medical follow-up; Medical consultation for Anna's chest pain; Dental appointment booking. The calendar also placed some firmer structure around the day, including Anna …

I was still in bed when the commotion started. Through the window, I saw an armed police unit surrounding a man on the estate – he'd been spotted doing a headstand in the street. I messaged Suzana and John with photos, watching the scene unfold. Eventually they handcuffed him and drove him away, but later a police car brought him back and dropped him off. I still don't know what that was about. Around midday I messaged Deimantė about the camping…

The morning was still half dark when we started ticking off the list: Anna needed to be at Stagecoach by 9:15, the patio needed jet-washing, the white bedding had to go in the wash, and I was supposed to build Anna's bar at some point. We planned it all over an audio call – Suzana took the shopping, and I took the upstairs bathroom, bedroom, ensuite, hoovering, and the kitchen. I remember thinking that if we managed to get all that done before no…

Anna's sports day came and went this morning - 9:10 to 10:10 on the calendar, and that's about all there is to say about it. The Ocado slot was set for four to five, so the day had its frame. Everything else was noise around the edges: the payment, the car, the messages. After lunch I was with the group, and the talk turned to money. The payment of £5,733 plus £5,743 has been raised. It should arrive in three to five working days. It's later tha…

I went to Tesco first thing to grab a protein shake and some raisin wheat. The morning was already warm, and I could feel my back aching from sitting in the chair for an hour or so at work. Back at TLC, Dizzy and Anton were talking about cardboard and high-grain, masks, payment, and someone mentioned Croatia. I tried to focus but my mind kept drifting to Anna's appointment. Later, another discussion about forklift issues, deliveries, and an unpai…

I was on the phone before I'd even got going – dropping something off, getting to Jack before 4, sending Laura's invoice, buying a leech, maybe going into the office on Friday. I had to remember the England match kicked off at 5, so half the city might shut early, and I needed to phone repair shops about my part. Then the building conversation took over. Dad and a business associate wanted to turn the yard into a used-car lot – buy at auction, s…

Suzana messaged me this evening, sounding worn out. She'd had a headache all day and was tired. We talked about Anna's ongoing trouble with Jessica. We'd already informed Miss Coldron, and after going back and forth, we decided not to escalate further—just manage the extracurricular contact ourselves. It's frustrating, but maybe that's the right call. The conversation got a bit tense because of her headache, and I apologized. We also made some p…

I headed to the Y2 teachers meeting at 9.15. We sat around the small table in the staff room, discussing the phonics screening results and planning intervention groups. Sarah led the conversation, and I nodded along, but my mind kept drifting to the office cleaning I had scheduled for the afternoon. After the meeting, I grabbed a quick coffee and checked my phone. Messages were already piling up. By early afternoon, I was at the office, tackling…

I was maybe halfway to the coast when the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. The temperature gauge was climbing, and I could smell something sweet—coolant. I pulled over onto the hard shoulder and popped the bonnet. There was a puddle of green fluid spreading underneath. I rang the AA, and they said it'd be late evening before a recovery truck could get to me. Possibly they'd have to take the car all the way to Sheffield. Bloody typical. I w…

My phone hasn't stopped buzzing all evening. It's that kind of night where every message carries some weight, and I'm caught between trying to help and just feeling drained. Deimantė first—153 messages back and forth. She's anxious about council tax and rent, hoping her office pays on Monday. Her flat is unbearable in this heat, and she's thinking about buying window protection for the kittens. I vented about visiting Robert in hospital, which s…

The car was already stuffy when I dropped Anna at her new class before eight. She didn't complain, just got out with that quiet look she gets when the heat's pressing down. I had to turn the air con up on the way to Costco for the contact lens appointment. By ten, I was sitting in that bright waiting room, blinking at the clock, wondering if the storm would actually come or if we'd just have another day of this crushing heat. Back at TLC, the ai…

This morning I scrubbed the patio with degreaser, getting ready to set up the pool. The concrete was stained in places, so I worked the brush in circles until the suds turned grey. I told Suzana I'd rather put the pool on the big patio than the grass—too much mud and uneven ground. She agreed, so I'll inspect it tomorrow morning before we pump it up. Later, Deimantė messaged me about her phone. It stopped charging yesterday and she's been unable…

Mid-morning I messaged John Taylor and asked straight out if I could borrow £80. He said yes, no fuss, and later sent his afternoon bus routes like it was nothing. Still no word from Euro Car Parks, but that's been hanging for days now. The heat was already building, and John mentioned the buses don't have air conditioning, which made me dread the rest of the day. Suzana messaged not long after. She'd heard from Amalia that she'd met Miss Coldro…

I managed to finish work at 4:30 on the dot today. As I was packing up, Suzana messaged me about our pizza evening. She'd already shopped for ingredients – pancetta, mushrooms, salami – and planned to arrive around 5:30 with Amalia and Marcel. I told her I'd head home straightaway and inflate the pool for the kids. But when I got home, I couldn't find the pump anywhere. I must have lent it to someone. So I stopped at the shop on the way back and …

The phone rang while I was still at the flat. It was someone leaving the hospital, heading to TLC. Their voice was tight, angry, shaking. They said their father was in the hospital, and they needed help writing an email. I told them to come over. At TLC I sat down with Robert and a few others to piece together what had happened. Koba had called the ambulance. Robert couldn't remember the lead-up at all—he just said, "I don't remember what happen…

I woke up feeling groggy, the stitches from the tongue biopsy still making themselves known. They came out last night, and there was some bleeding, but by morning it had settled. I was still constipated until I forced myself to eat something and drink coffee—that did the trick. Finally felt a bit more human. Janice messaged early about the pump charger and inflating tyres. I helped her figure it out, then we talked about fertilising the tomato p…

Woke up with my tongue still sore and a flu-like heaviness in my body. I'd promised Anna we'd do her birthday party today, so I dragged myself out of bed. The party ran from 1 to 3pm at home. Janice came over, and we had balloons and cake. I'd picked up helium balloons the day before, and Anna seemed happy. We ate the bread I'd bought, tidied up afterwards. I was glad it went okay despite feeling rough. After the party, I spent the evening messa…

The hospital appointment was at 1:15, so I spent the morning trying to convince myself the dizziness wasn't going to make me keel over. I messaged John Taylor while I waited, told him about Mum's thyroid – they're monitoring it every six months, it's not serious – but the cut from the biopsy is deep and I'm worried it might be infected. I invited him to do ours at TLC. He said 'soon' and mentioned he'd be chopping trees for a friend. I told him I…

Cleaner was booked for ten thirty, so I spent the morning trying to make the place presentable while the stitches in my tongue made every movement feel heavier than it should. I hadn't eaten properly since the biopsy; everything hurt and the swelling hadn't gone down. The house already had Anna's party hanging over it, and with the weekend plans still up in the air, the cleaner arriving felt like the only thing that was definitely going to happen…