Woke 4.45 to hear the dog downstairs, barking to be let out. This is unusual: he sleeps in our room, and usually gets up when I do. I heard him bark twice, and thought perhaps my husband would get up. After all, I only had 2 hours sleep the night before, because our daughter was ill. But no. So I got up, realising I had a sore throat, and in all likelihood was going to have the thing my daughter had.

Thus it was that I got to see the sunrise, which was for a few minutes, the most amazing sight. In our house, we have brilliant views of the sunsets, but I don't usually get good views of the sunrises. Our hous is on a hill, which is such a gentle slope that until I had children I didn't really realise it was a hill. The back of the house looks down the slope, and there is a good open area where the sunset can be seen. The front of the house is overlooked by houses above, on the opposite side of the road, and they block out the sunrise.

This morning the sky was covered in cottonwool clouds, and it looked exactly as it would if you had taken a rool of cottonwool and eked it out across the sky. The underside of the clouds was highlighted in candyfloss pink all over the sky. It only lasted for a few minutes and bodes badly for the weaher today.

It's warm, and I cam hear the thrum of the fans in the children's rooms. I am sitting here in my dresing gown, but I think I will shrug off the top and sit here naked from the waist up. The heat is oppressive already.

I am drinking Fanta for my throat. I don;t usually drink soft drinks other than water, but we have some big bottles of Fanta bought for the children, and I just fancied some. I am worrying about the effect of this bug on Ali already. His Crohn's disease may flare again if he gets this bug.