Gloomy message of hope and encouragement

This evening was the first time since I started my current walking program that the temperature, humidity, and sunshine were perfectly balanced for a pleasant stroll. Previously, at least one of those variables was out of kilter. It was also the first time that I have done the full 'long route' (please don't ask; you would only mock me) two evenings in a row. I must presumably be getting fitter: I ache from the first step, but the aching at the end is no worse than the aching at the beginning. This is progress.

The headline was inspired by lines allegedly written by Alfred Austin (1835–1913), an English poet laureate, 'On the Illness of the Prince of Wales (1910)'. Never let your enemies record the words by which you will be remembered.

"Across the wires the gloomy message came,
He is no better; he is much the same."

Many years ago, my daughter worked in a bank. It was a job she hated and it showed. Her manager reported in a routine performance review. "She has been seen trudging." It must be genetic, because as hard as I try to walk with a spring in my step, I find that in the late autumn of my life, I too can be seen trudging.