I think the final departure of the snow is at hand. No snow has fallen, early this morning there was a period of heavy and extended sleet and rain. By mid morning there was only an inch of snow left and it was distinctly mild. By the evening the newer snow had mainly melted to reveal a mixture of slush and ice below. As far as I have seen all roads are clear, open fields are walkable but often wet, only pavements still need great care although they are a lot better than they were a few days ago. There is a lot of standing water, in some cases drainage is prevented by ice or frozen ground below (an unusual phenomenon in the south of England).

I went in to see Isobel at five o'clock. She was awake and in a good mood. Her speech was fairly good. I started reading to Isobel from Jessica's book but had only read two pages when tea arrived. For tea she had two rounds of ham and egg sandwiches followed by fruit salad and cream. Tea took a bit longer to eat than usual, but this was because we were chatting.

After tea Isobel watched television and talked. She confirmed that she did not have a headache and was comfortable. She added that she was happy. Isobel and I finished eating the chocolate orange we had started yesterday. Isobel then ate a banana, and a quarter of an hour later finished the red grapes that Carol had brought in. The red grapes again induced a small amount of coughing, Isobel's chest is still not completely clear. I went home at just after half six to a very tasty chilli con carne cooked by Euan. I had been unable to do justice to Keith and Liz's excellent curry last night and have been a bit below par since before Christmas with chest problems.