Today’s main event is another PCR swab test with two jeunes arriving with the grown-up Noo-Noo person purifier.

I know the routine by now, and don’t sit by the door waiting for them. Instead I prepare chair, bin, HKID card and tissues as instructed and get on with other things.

They finally arrive around 3 pm, five of them pointing the purification nozzle at me and taking my temperature. Then the young woman reaches forward to do my swab – I initially forget to open my mouth, which makes me feel foolish – but to my surprise she aims her swab squarely at the inside of both cheeks and nowhere near my tonsil area. I am slightly stunned by this: all previous Covid tonsil swabs I have taken have been just that and the instructions have always specifically warned against touching any other part of the mouth with the swab. I want to remonstrate but I’m too surprised to argue with the Health Department. I’m left calling into question the motives of these individual civil servants.

It’s a walking day and I load up Jane’s Fonda’s Time to Walk module on my watch. It tickles me a little to discover that my walking pace with this one is faster than all of the preceding walking programmes. Dolly Parton’s was the second fastest, and Naomi Campbell generated the least energy in me. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions from that.

Fonda’s contribution and her resolve to remain steadfast and courageous touch me. If you have access to Apple Fitness+ I’d encourage you to have a listen. I can’t help but take issue with one of her music choices, also chosen by Stephen Fry. What is so good about Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah? (I don’t have an issue with Cohen. His Dance Me to the End of Love is one of my favourite songs.) Am I the only person in the world to be completely unmoved by this mundane creation? It’s like The Godfather all over again: loads of people say that it’s their favourite movie of all time but I just can’t see it. To me it’s just a load of men, willy waving and beating people up. I’m obviously clueless. Oh well.

A healthy supper of quinoa salad and then fruit salad from Eric Kayser, and I am in a much better frame of mind. I munch a madeleine and ruminate on some happy memories of this trip.

Today’s pictures are of the pill box I picked up in Quebec City, which is helping me mark time here. I mean, I’m fairly well aware of time passing, but this is colourful.

Also and please don’t take this the wrong way – this morning I actually saw a human come out on his balcony and do some stretches. It’s quite rare to see anyone this high up.