My iCloud Photos problem is sorted. Seems the best technique when things get really screwed up on a device is to start again. First check that all the photos are there - iCloud.com is easy for this - then start with an empty library and wait. It’ll all come down from the cloud and life will be good again. Patience is a virtue, as is a fast internet connection.
I went for a walk this evening around 6:30. It was the first time this year I didn’t wear a jacket. I even considered shorts. 71ºF (21.6ºC) is shorts weather for me. Yes, I know it’s only early March, the sun went down a while ago and it’s like a hot summers day in the UK. A scorcher would be the headline in the tabloids. We had a very mild winter and this is a sign - to me - that we are going to have a hot summer. Hotter than the usual 105º that it normally is. Still, my solar panels are loving it.
I ordered a new MacBook Pro 16” (32GB / 1TB) today. The company I have worked at for the last 8 years (next week) is paying. My old 2014 MBP is still going strong. It gets a hammering 8-10 hours a day 5-7 days per week. The trackpad - which rarely gets used - started jamming again so it’s going to be retired as a backup machine / media server.