This morning Isobel's dysphasia had suddenly improved and for the first hour she was able to convey her meaning with some ease. This gradually deteriorated over the rest of the morning and by early afternoon was almost as bad as last night. This is the first time there has been a sudden improvement in her speech.

Iona came over lunchtime and sat with her mother for most of the afternoon. For dinner Isobel had chili con carne with baked potato. In the evening I drove her to Bexley; we went for a walk alongside the River Shuttle. We left the wheelchair in the car, available for emergencies, and followed an oval route on flat grass. The aim was to see how far she could manage on a good, level, surface with no time pressure and as many stops as she wanted. Isobel managed about 250 yards, but was very slow and needed a lot of support for the final hundred yards.

When we got home Isobel had another huge helping of strawberries, cream and ice cream. She went to bed at about half ten.