Not a lot of sleep overnight. We are experiencing our first named storm, Ashley, of the 2024/25 season with the worst of it being today. Each time I check the weather app the wind gust speeds appear to increase. Currently, at 06:30 the winds are 40mph with the highest currently forecast for where I am being 57mph. 
Despite moving Star (my motorhome) to what I thought was a more sheltered position, sadly it seems she is still getting the wind side on which is the worst possible combination for a high sided van and strong winds. So I will be moving her again to try and put her nose into the general direction of the wind (varying between a Southerly, South Easterly and South Westerly during the course of the day).
It is so bad out there that even the dogs have zero interest in going out the door! Which is a relief as walking them in this weather wouldn't have been the stuff of nightmares!
As its Sunday, I typically spend the afternoon planning my LinkedIn posts for the week (it's the platform I primarily advertise my business to business services on) as I took my foot off of that activity also thinking I was going to be working on a campsite for the summer.
I have to admit that having to consistently post on social media is starting to become more and more of a chore. I hate feeling like I 'have to post' to please the social media platform algorithms who punish you by limiting the number of people who see your content / posts if you dare take a few days off! But sadly, social media is an important part of business, especially small business, these days. Its a necessary evil which if I were ever to win the Lottery would be the first thing I removed from my life (I'd still post here and to you YouTube channel as I'd be posting for pleasure rather than out of necessity).
Massive lunch!
As some may know, I'm primarily plant based. However I do not label myself as vegan, vegetarian etc. I prefer to refer to myself as having a fluid diet. When I buy my own groceries, it is typically always plant based however I have now introduced fish/seafood back into my life, perhaps once a week.
Yesterday I had a delivery from Tesco delivered to the house where I'm sitting as the nearest store is some distance away and once I park the van (and get it levelled which is quite tricky where I am currently due to the area sloping in 2 different directions) I don't like to take the van off the levels unless I absolutely have to. So I use my power assisted bicycle (or my motorcycle if I'm towing it, which I'm not for this particular sit as I've already explored the area on previous visits) to pop to the shop when I need something. But on this occasion, I needed to change Shaka's diet due to his kidney failure diagnosis and it happened that Tesco had a Clubcard special offer on their Naturo dog food range. So I purchased 48 trays! I also ordered the required groceries for the 8 days I'm here.
Today I decided that I wanted all 5 of my 5 a day in a single sitting. There was also some chicken fillets in the fridge that needed to be used up and if there is one thing I dislike is meat waste. The animal died, we can at least respect it enough to not allow its life to be a waste.
So I ended up with a plate consisting of kale, baby spinach, carrots, parsnips, broccoli, cauliflower and a small chicken fillet.
I'm very bad at eating greens and vegetables and found myself buying processed vegan products typically. The biggest issue for me is simply not having the utensils in the van to make a multi pan/pot dish. I have 1 pot and 1 frying pan! What I am going to be doing research into is vegan one pot recipes. So if you have any one pot recipes you make, even if its not vegan / plant based, please do let me know as I may be able to substitute the protein with a vegan alternative like tofu etc.
ICC T20 Women's World Cup Final
This afternoon I reclined in front of a massive projection screen in the cinema room in the house where I'm pet sitting to watch the final of the ladies T20 world cup in Dubai. South Africa versus our long time rivals, New Zealand.
This is the 2nd consecutive year (the T20 World Cup is a yearly event) that South Africa have reached the final so hopes were high that we may be able to win our first title.
Sadly New Zealand were simply the far more superior team on the day.
Shaka update
Shaka has eaten well today. He seems to like the new trays of food I've changed him on to. He is however not poo'ing much. Yesterday he didn't poo at all. Today he has had one. Typically he would have 3 - 5 a day! Constipation is one of the symptoms of kidney failure so I'm monitoring things in a daily diary.