I’m a good sport when it comes to admiring scenery

Weekends have a different shape for many of us these days and at Penman Towers, the massive hole left for Mr P as his beloved football team has been out of bounds has taken some getting used to – for both of us. It took a while before I stopped going “Weargh, what are you doing here?” when he popped up in the house on a Saturday, minding his own business.

His passion for pretty much all sport on TV has had to suffice and recently we’ve had a breakthrough in terms of me finally showing an interest in one of those sports, in the unlikely form of cycling.

I say unlikely, as the last time I was on a bicycle was probably after the Christmas when my brother got a

Raleigh Chopper and I didn’t. Having never shown an interest in bikes before that, I was overcome by jealousy. Until I went for a surreptitious spin when he’d taken a break from non-stop wheelies and attempted a wheelie myself.

The damage to my knee when I fell off resulted in curing my jealousy and also led to my best ever scab, so it wasn’t all bad.

Mr P is a keen cyclist, though, and has been enjoying coverage of the Tour de France recently. He called me in on one of the days he was monitoring the race.

“Look, they’re cycling through that place we went on holiday that time.” Sure enough, they were pedalling through some stonking scenery in the south of France.

The sights continued, as did my interest, as they cycled through various regions of France.

Mountains, vineyards, medieval villages perched on top of hills, fields of flowers … For those of us who’ve been in one place for what feels like forever, it’s perfect escapism from the comfort of home.

Unlike Mr P, I have to confess I’ve not paid the slightest attention to the actual cycling race, but I’ve been hooked on everything else, which suits me fine. At last, a shared sporting interest.

Look, they’re cycling through that place we went on holiday that time