Suddenly things have changed. For the better. The sunny morning – though surprisingly fresh – began unequivocally. Upon awakening I simply answered duty. Mainly, I had an early morning appointment with a dermatologist, the doctor who – upon referral to him by my GP months ago – identified a malignant tumour associated with skin cancer. He commented today while peering through his fancy dermatoscope that we fortunately caught it early enough to ensure it hadn’t spread rampantly through the lymph nodes. I’m booked to see him again in six months. If – as I predictably quipped – I make it that far. He ignored the humour. He bluntly speculated the subsequent return will be a year afterwards. Clearly though he’s unconvinced the initial problem has vanished. The succinct dialogue was not unlike an encounter with a funeral director, polite but uncompromising.

Yet the shaded intelligence was sufficient to invigorate my day and to delay the inevitable dress rehearsal. I am for the moment uniquely stabilized. Indeed as I afterwards flew along the winding country roads (as a further performance and identification of my daily prerequisites) I felt that all manner of perplexity had been extinguished. An unobstructed pathway lay before me. I privately celebrated the uncommon clarity of the day. Everything reflected the brilliance and the confidence of the moment.

Definition is inflexible and exacting. But its indifferent precision promotes a relieving crispness especially when conjoined with ideal dry weather, springtime romance, flocks of darting birds, the changing patterns of growth and flow. There is a vast overhead dome of azure sky. The river is a rich thread of dark blue fickle fluid. Everywhere there is evidence of proliferation.

As I contemplate this dreamy euphoria (supplemented by Alex Ffrench and the London Philharmonic orchestra) there persists the unparalleled magic of the day.  I have yet to adjust to unqualified sunshine approaching eight o’clock in the evening. Nor is it merely impassive reminiscence. There is an underlying uniformity, a deductive sequel to controversial commotion and complexity. Laying the groundwork for future conduct and behaviour is perhaps no different than affording access to the stubble remaining from last year’s cultivation. The refinement of the astonishing vista is to accede to its adequacy.

We feel to have turned a corner. Dwindling from our temperament are indifferent recollections of the past. We now measure the fulfillment of our lives by decades. Metaphorically yesterday my tricycle was removed from my immediate scope.  I shall have to contemplate another fashion of athleticism as I await the assistance of Derand Motorsports to complete a needed overhaul.