Slim Harpo on the CD player, Doghouse eases out of the old armchair. Will he make it in time to the toilet? A cryptic crossword on the go. The Sunday void before the week starts. Doghouse thinks about Blind Lemon Jefferson. What incredible artistry? How could he make it more difficult?

This morning he found some old bottlenecks and spare strings and his ballroom dancing medals, bronze only.

The garden is out of hand. Doghouse tells himself he is leaving it for the sake of the bees, but this is the week for the green wheelie-bin collection. Since they discharged him from the hospital his cough is much worse. He thinks about vacuuming upstairs. Maybe it is the dust. He plays around a cracked filling with his tongue. More money that will cost.

Slim Harpo might be considered sexist. What about Buddy Guy then for the reading on Wednesday? He used to think no one could touch Slim Harpo. Perhaps this is old age creeping up on him.