Yesterday was one of those days when nothing quite seems to go the way it should, with lots of important tasks left undone for different reasons. But by the end of the day we had a car again, a Honda Jazz which really does seem, like the Tardis, to be bigger on the inside than on the outside.

A copy of the remastered Robert Fripp album Exposure came in the post, with its ever-welcome spoken reminders from JG Bennett of 'It is impossible to achieve the aim without suffering' and 'If you know you have an unpleasant nature, and dislike people, this is no obstacle to work'. Good music too: it seems to improve with age, and Daryl Hall's singing is wonderful.

Today I had a fascinating chat with Jim Kilpatrick about snare drums real and virtual, and drum heads. The world of traditional side-drum playing was a closed book to me, but Jim's enthusiasm and formidable knowledge (not to mention his astonishing playing) are very infectious.

If you've been watching Springwatch on BBC2 you'll be keeping up with the story of our local foxes, who have suddenly become TV celebrities. Besides this week's star Jamie, there is another slightly lame fox that I see often from my window, trailing his hind right leg, and another who always looks both ways before crossing our street: it makes me smile every time.You'll also be getting familiar with a patch of Islay that's very close to Sanaig.