Local news of local people

Just an alpaca I met, October 2025

Following on from my last post, it turns out that UJ had confused the English words for vinyl records (which she didn't want), and the turntable (which she did). In the end she took the amp as well as the record player, and I delivered them to her temporary home along with the vases and lamps she had left with me, and some other random items of hers that I found. To store them she opened the garage which was stuffed so full that my precious turntable had to be balanced carefully on the top of a pile of other goods. I am trying not to think about the likelihood that it will be usable when she finally gets round to having a place to set it up.

Which left me with about 120 LP records, so I took them round to a second-hand record shop in Leamington which advertised that they would buy record collections for cash. They phoned me later in the day to offer me £120 for them, which I happily took. Together with my eBay activity, I have made more than £660 (and 12 Oaks) so far.

I'm focusing on just two areas at the moment - the garden and the Auditorium, where the water stains have faded now that the weather has improved. Jlf 6 painted over one area with stain blocker paint, and then I found another patch and took on the painting myself for a change instead of employing someone else. This is mainly due to the time factor, but actually there's an awful lot more to do and I'm thinking about getting help in just to get it done in a reasonable amount of time. Painting is quite a satisfying activity and I haven't messed it up or spilt paint on anything important so far (but it's not yet finished).

The garden is jolly hard work. Clearing all the paving of moss and weeds is backbreaking, and then there are the bricks. One person came round and took five of them away, which is lovely for them and five fewer for me but my estimate was that there were at least sixty more. I was talking about this to a friend who works in a school, and she looked thoughtful for a moment and then said that she might be able to help. Next day she texted that she would take them all, but it turned out there were far more than my estimate - after she'd taken all that would fit in her van there are still about a hundred left.

Before Christmas I went to a LETS social gathering where I met a couple who mentioned that they were looking to move somewhere nearer to the town centre. so I invited them to come round. I reminded them of the invitation recently, they came last week and delighted in the house and its location. The chances of this working out in terms of timing and finances are slim, but you never know. They are struggling so much with de-cluttering that they are employing a professional Declutterer to help them - who knew such people existed? I still haven't contacted the estate agents again and am definitely feeling some emotional resistance at the moment.

I'll end with two contrasting aspects of Leamington. First news item: a man's body was found in the river in the park at the end of my road on Wednesday, and a murder investigation has begun. A police flyer has come through my door asking for witnesses to anything suspicious on the night of the crime. 

Second news item: on Friday I went to a fundraising gig for the Peace Festival at a venue right next to the location of the murder, where three local acts were performing. I'd seen Benji Kirkpatrick before at Temperance; the second band (Satsangi) included one of my Buddhist friends, and the third act was a DJ - Dr Trippy - who is the husband of my LETS friend who also sings in the local choir I've been to see. One of the organisers of the gig and the Peace Festival is another LETS person who also helps to run the Repair Cafe...

Three other Buddhist friends were in the audience as well as a whole lot of other LETS acquaintances (including the couple who had visited my house earlier in the day), and I even recognised and said hello to the man who sold me my home music system. I was quite pleased that I not only worked out why he seemed familiar, but even remembered his name. It was a terrific gig. It's been a good week. No wonder I'm feeling some reluctance to start the formal process of moving away.

Moving forward

Jlfs 3, 4, 5 and 6 at work, April 2026

The Severn Trent Water investigation last week meant that there was no need to dig up the pavement, so the scaffolding went up before Easter in preparation for painting the front of the house (masonry and woodwork). I am tempted to skip the naming of these contractors (scaffolding and painting) given that I am hoping to need no more tradesmen before quitting Lola Towers but that would be tempting fate, so let's call them collectively Jlf. 

Jlf 1 is managing the project, Jlf 2 arranged the scaffolding which was erected by Jlfs 3, 4 and 5, and Jlf 6 has been doing the actual preparation and painting. There was much flaking paint and he reported from the eaves that the wooden decoration was at risk of actually dropping off, so the whole job is very timely. All of these people have been delightful to work with, although it turns out that Jlf 6 does not drink anything but tea and there were a couple of hot days, so I had my work cut out making sure he survived. The Jlfs arrived to take the scaffolding down on the next working day - I'm not sure they were the same Jlfs but it's hard to tell them apart: they move very quickly. They all called me 'Bab', which is a very Brummie nickname and made me smile. The front of the house is now eye-wateringly white.

In my regular GRUHI report there has been more eBay action - the vintage Meccano that belonged to dad received huge numbers of views and watchers but disappointingly just a single bid, so that buyer got a bargain. In contrast, the Denby crockery I bought about 30 years ago has so far brought in about £45 with more to come. And, because listing and postage were so easy, I put 17 old car and motorcycle tax discs on eBay and got a fiver for them. There's just no predicting what people want. The question of why I had 17 old car and motorcycle tax discs will remain unanswered; I don't have them any more, so that's a step forward.

I remain a regular visitor to the tip for both landfill and recycling, and made an appointment to take the evil gardening poisons there. The garden had its first mow of the year to reveal that grass is now about 30% of the lawn as 70% is moss. It's lovely and green and spongy so I don't care. The first car-full of garden clippings went to the tip too.

I finally got round to dealing with the bricks that were left over from the kitchen extension in 2019 by offering them within the local LETS group (the cashless trading system I'm part of). Who would have thought this would be the most attractive offer out of all the things I have tried to pass on? Three different people want them, although it might take a while for them to come and collect, and I have more potential recipients in reserve.

The visit from the Secretary of the Leamington History Group finally took place, shortly after I unearthed a treasure trove of historical documents when I was thinning out my filing cabinet. She was a strange bird, and seemed less interested in the history of the house than informing me that Wisden was probably not connected with the cricket ground despite people suggesting that he was (I had made no such claim). She has borrowed all the documents but said that her Group probably wouldn't want to keep them and I should perhaps offer them to the County Record Office.

I'm taking leave of my vinyl records too. One of the Buddhists kindly offered to digitise the five records that I want to keep, and in return he had the pick of the collection for himself. I've sold the rest to UJ - I didn't really want to because she doesn't have a settled home yet, and as far as I know she doesn't have a turntable to  play them on. But she did ask for them and it seems unfair not to let her have them as she does seem to like having things a great deal.

There have been some less arduous things going on too. A lunchtime organ recital was advertised at the nearest church so I thought I'd pop in, but didn't enjoy it all that much because the organist was frankly Not Very Good. U3A walking and board games were suspended for Easter and then again because of scaffolding and painting supervision. I spent a morning at the Repair Café advertising LETS and trying to shift a few more of my own things - someone with a very large garden took the walky talkies and I came away with two goose eggs. Apparently they're very good for cakes, but I ate them scrambled for breakfast and they were all right - I wouldn't go out of my way to acquire more.

Still a lot going on

March 2026

I have been doing what feels like full time work on GRUHI, but I'm trying to set aside a bit of time for human interaction.

Cousin H visited Lola Towers at my invitation. This came about because the local history group have been uploading material from their book 'Leamington Spa: A History in 100 Buildings', published in 2018 but now out of print. I've been reading it a page at a time when I have a moment, and it's really very interesting. I was moved to contact them to offer them access to Lola Towers before I sell. 

It's quite possible that all of the buildings in all of the world have some sort of interesting story behind them - when and why they were built, who lived there. I wrote what I knew of the history of Lola Towers in 2017, and Cousin H became interested and did a bit more research, so when the secretary of the history group accepted my invitation to visit, I thought Cousin H might be interested. And also because it was an opportunity to hang out with him.

He arrived the day before, and we went to a play in Stratford at the Swan Theatre which was slightly disappointing but OK, and back in Leamington I took him over to the Royal Pump Rooms to see the display of the history of the town before coming home ready to welcome the history group. But nobody turned up, and when I contacted them it seemed they had visited but somehow had got no answer. So that was a shame, but we've set another date and I hoping it comes to something next time.

On the GRUHI front I've had some success. Photographing and listing stuff is getting a bit easier, and I have a couple more items of value, and then it will be a relief to just take what's left to the tip or the charity shops. UJ bought my bicycle, and I took all sorts of bits and pieces from the garage to a gardening event in the hope that someone would be interested. One person nabbed the strimmer string and another took some hosepipe; I also got rid of two buckets and a seed spreader to Nameless Man at the Library of Things. They are all Eco types who are thoroughly organic, and general horror was expressed at the chemicals I had - at least one is now banned but they told me how to dispose of it all at the local recycling centre, where I am now a very regular visitor.

The Saga of the Water continued with another visit from Severn Trent. This time it was a young woman, who apologised for her colleagues while actually doing the job I'd asked for. She confirmed there was a leak on my side of the water meter - about 1 litre an hour, which sounded like a lot until she told me the story of her previous job which was at a church where water was being lost at the rate of 600 litres an hour. She used a delightful tool to listen to the pipes, which could not have been less technical and comprised an earpiece on a stick. When I said that it might be a good idea to close the stop tap and check again, she expressed some surprise that this hadn't been done on either of the previous visits.

So in conclusion it seems that I have two problems. One is at the front where the water stain appeared, but there are no pipes leaking there and it is very probably water rising from the cellar brickwork below due to all the rain, and the age of the house meaning that there is no proper damp proof course on that wall. So I can hope for drier and warmer weather, while drying out the wall with a heater and dehumidifier and then touching up the paint. The other problem is within the house - maybe a ballcock or seal on a cistern is letting water drip through, because there are no dripping taps or evidence of water leaking (except as mentioned at the front where there aren't any pipes). For this I can engage an ordinary plumber to investigate.

Overwhelm

Woodland Cemetery, March 2026

I've been focussing on friends and GRUHI while keeping an eye on the water issues and also negotiating with the painter and scaffolder. I have a date for Severn Trent to investigate further, and a start date for the scaffolding permit. It's been a bit overwhelming, to be honest.

Anyway, recent GRUHI success stories include donating another box of stuff to a friend who works in a charity shop, another couple of bags to Action 21, and actually selling my tenor saxophone for real money, to someone in my music group who is collecting instruments on behalf of a Scout group. It takes a long time to list things on eBay so I'm only using it for the things that are either easy to send by post or are worth something - so far I've sold a Chromecast Audio device and my Clavinova electric piano, which gave me such pleasure for so many years but realistically I'm not going to play any more. And Lola II has one if I do get desperate.

I've been trying to keep in touch with friends despite feeling as though I'm doing a full time job at the moment. With various people I have gone for walks, seen a film, gone to a comedy show, had a Zoom call and a telephone call, and a coffee morning. In the last week I managed badminton twice, Buddhist group twice, board games, a concert, U3A walking group and spent two days with mum, accompanied by Lola II and Sister D for a trip to the cemetery to see dad's freshly installed gravestone. It was an unusually hot and sunny day and the woodland cemetery full of daffodils, including some on the grave that we definitely hadn't put there. Lola II placed a beautiful boulder she has decorated on the grave, and then we nearly got locked in as we hadn't really taken account of the fact that the cemetery closes at 4pm.

UJ is back in town, although she's staying with friends and is not sure where or when she will settle. She came round to collect the few letters for her that had arrived; we went out for a meal and it was very interesting to catch up. The winter in Ukraine has been particularly cold and conditions are terrible; she thinks her parents may be coming round to the idea of leaving. Nothing can be relied upon, no planning for the future is possible, and Russia has gained from the war between the US and Iran. More than four years since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine and it seems no nearer to ending.

Water, water, every where

Lola Towers, March 2026

It's been a very water-focused winter. So much rain, mum's leaking pipes, evidence of water rising in my Auditorium, and then my boiler also started to make an intermittent noise. I've received a lot of attention from plumbers.

The boiler guy came in the morning of the day that Severn Trent were booked to dig up the pavement in the afternoon, which was quite convenient. In between phases of investigating the boiler noise he was kind enough to take a look in the cellar beneath the water stain. The heating pipes all looked sound and dry but he did comment that the cellar walls are saturated, and the house being the age that it is, there is no effective damp proof course. He tweaked something in the boiler and the noise hasn't recurred yet, but he's going to give me a quote for a replacement fan which will help not only if it fails but also should guide potential house purchasers, should guidance be needed.

In the afternoon the two Severn Trent workers came. I offered them tea or coffee and then discovered that I have no coffee, so that wasn't a good start. They put up signs and barriers and closed the footpath before getting stuck in to the job of digging around the water meter, and were very clear that I was not allowed onto 'the site' to look any closer. Their verdict was that the joint under investigation was not leaking but wouldn't let me through to look in the hole, so I gave them my camera to take a photo, which just showed a puddle in wet gravel. I've now followed up with a text conversation with another plumber, and then went back to Severn Trent to challenge their verdict. The saga continues.

In the meantime I've got a heater set up in the Auditorium which is drying the wall nicely. It keeps raining though. I've also done a test with photographing the water meter at 10pm and 8am and it shows some movement of the dial, but I don't know how significant it is. I did the same at mum's with the same result, so there's Thames Water to contact about that too.

At mum's I also had the job of replacing the knobs on her 40-year-old cooker. I found a company which supplied 'universal' knobs but the kit supplied didn't entirely work without adjustment, which we did using some tubing left over from when dad needed a catheter. I've left mum with one new replacement knob to try out, and if she's happy then we'll replace the rest. [Update - we've put the old ones back.]

Then there's the painting needed of the front of the house. I finally managed to get three acceptable quotes from firms. One was a man on a ladder, which I specifically don't want because of the chimney pointing experience, but when I turned him down he started to argue that he's very experienced with ladders... The second one started talking about payment in cash (the amount is more than £2000). So I picked the third one who advised that the start date will be based on the availability of the scaffolding. 

Then the scaffolding company called to explain the convoluted process of applying for a licence to put up scaffolding on the public highway (the pavement outside my house) and the steps that would need to be taken involving suspending parking, cones and redirecting pedestrians. Let's just say, it's complicated. But after just a day or two he phoned back to say the permit had already been granted and the scaffolding can go up at the end of March.

Inadequacy

All England badminton, March 2026

Last week I was fully immersed in my volunteering for the international badminton in Birmingham, with short breaks for my Buddhist activity, blogging and Muscles the Personal Trainer. Muscles was as disappointed as I was to hear of the results of my follow-up blood test for the pre-diabetes. The lipid and cholesterol results have improved a great deal but the blood sugar result has gone down only to the borderline level between non- and pre-diabetic. This isn't enough for me to become comfortable that I've done what I need to do. It also highlighted the difficulty when volunteering and faced with all manner of treats supplied by the lovely people who run the event. So Muscles, who I think also does some coaching, made a few very helpful suggestions, and even agreed for me to message him at the end of the day to help me stick to a 'no snacks' policy for the day.

It's my third time in the role down in the basement 'Event Control Room' with all the radios, and I'm starting to get the hang of who represents all the various teams on the Field of Play, Logistics, Transport, Athlete Services, Volunteering and more, where the Practice Courts, Final Warm Up Area, Premier Lounge and Sports Presentation are located, and what a 'Show Cube' is (a fancy room high up in the building with a view of the arena). I still can't always understand what's said over the radios though. Next year the Badminton World Federation has decreed that instead of 6 days, all the World Series events (of which this is one) will be extended to 11 days. This will pose all sorts of issues for Badminton England in recruiting volunteers (many of whom take time off work) and also over-stretching contractors, who work 18-hour days during the event. We'll see what happens.

The weekend before that I attended an online retreat together with four other friends in an Airbnb in that holiday haven of Solihull. It obviously needed to be a fairly large property so there were five bedrooms, four of which were only just big enough to accommodate the double beds. Never mind, we didn't need a lot of bedroom space, and four out of five of them were warm. The fifth bedroom was downstairs off the kitchen in what was clearly a garage conversion without sufficient insulation. The bed there only had a thin blanket and the first night was uncomfortably cold for its occupant, so we contacted the host who revealed that the duvet was (unaccountably) in the cupboard under the stairs with the hoover, dustpan and brush etc.

This example conveys the flavour of the weekend. We'd been told that one patio door was broken and had been boarded up, but not that the hot tap in the kitchen had fallen apart and couldn't be used. The listing described the dining room as 'spacious',  the living area as having 'ample seating' and the kitchen as 'fully equipped' which was completely untrue - it was manageable for the five of us, but if the house were full (advertised as 8 people) there wouldn't be enough seating, space or kitchenware.

The kitchen situation was particularly strange. It had the most complicated kettle, induction hob, combi ovens and microwave you could imagine - the kettle had about 8 different settings - but none of the other equipment you would expect. There was just one tea towel, a tin opener and a potato masher, but no peeler, grater, sieve, colander, no measuring jug, mixing bowl or serving dishes and only shallow oven trays - no deep dishes and no oven gloves. The frying pan wasn't compatible with the induction hob and the microwave was almost too complicated to use. There were no mugs, only cups, and not enough of those for all of us.

On the plus side it was mostly warm, mostly clean, with plenty of hot water and blisteringly fast WiFi, which meant that at least we could all independently run Zoom without problems. And we had some proper conversations and quality time together, and that was the main purpose of the weekend.

Another preoccupation I've had is finding someone who will (safely) paint the front of Lola Towers. None of the contacts provided by the estate agents I've contacted have been any good, but at the moment I've got one promising quote, one not so good, and someone visiting this week to have a look. It seems unlikely, however, that the work will be done before May.

Hill Close Gardens, February 2026

More tales of travel, admin and water

Just before my year's entry ticket expired I managed to visit Hill Close Gardens in Warwick. It was the week when snowdrops are at their best, and it was really, really cold. Not much else was blooming so I didn't hang around, but I should go again when there's more to see and the wind is less biting. They are proud of their collections - not only snowdrops but chrysanthemums, sempervivums and 63 varieties of apple trees.

It's an interesting historical site too - in the 1840's when people living in towns didn't have gardens this site provided 'detached' gardens divided up into plots. Unlike allotments, people used them for pleasure, with lawns and summer houses as well as lots of fruit trees and flowers (although a few kept pigs too). Some of the plots were sold for housing in the 20th century, but just as all but one had fallen into dereliction and the diggers were on their way, local residents managed to get the site listed and it was saved for posterity. They then cleared it all up, and did lots of research into who had owned the plots and what they had looked like, restored some of the summer houses and then began opening for visitors.

My next outing was the annual Mr M & Lola II Film Festival, which I completely missed last year because I was ill. Not so this year, and the stand-out discovery was the French film "The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe", a slapstick comedy that had us all laughing. 

While I was in London I continued my efforts to link my Senior Railcard to my Oyster account. Mr M drew my attention to this possibility, but when I looked it up I found it needed to be done by a member of TfL staff in person, using an actual Oyster card - I've been simply using my contactless bank card for a long time. So I dug out my old Oyster card, but found I couldn't register it to the account unless it had been used in the last 8 weeks. So on this trip I used the card, after which I managed to register it to my online account. At West Ealing station they didn't have the right staff, but at Marylebone they were up for it - except that the card didn't show up as having been linked to the account. The saga continues.

The LTRP also continues, as it always will with such an old house, with a visit from Luke from Severn Trent Water to investigate the stain that has appeared in my front room. He confirmed that the meter is showing a small leak - he estimated 1 litre per hour, which doesn't seem particularly small to me. He's going to call in a team that will dig up the pavement around the meter and I'm hoping they will find the source of the leak, otherwise it will be another of those long-winded and potentially costly investigations.

Then my newest tradesman came to touch up the evidence of water staining and condensation in the porch, hall and kitchen. It was the same day that my new phone arrived, so I spent most of the day either entering passwords into apps or chatting to him about jobs he's done and the state of the world. The new phone keeps challenging me with passwords and connectivity and making unexpected noises and not having a 'back' button, but I'm sure it will all be sorted within a few weeks...

Mainly snow and water

Lake Tueda, Meribel Mottaret, February 2026

The skiing holiday was another good one, affected only slightly by one of our party (P) falling on the third day. Sitting on the piste, he was in immense pain around the left shoulder and thought it was dislocated; the paramedic on skis (Damien) thought it probably wasn't. Damien called an ambulance which arrived very promptly and delivered the patient to the local medical centre, where an X-ray confirmed a break right through the humerus just below the shoulder. P came back in a brace along with industrial strength French painkillers, including opium powder. We all hoped he would start wearing a smoking jacket and writing romantic poetry, but no, he just winced and went a bit grey and silent whenever the shoulder was disturbed. There followed some discussion with the insurance company, who finally came up with a plan to fly him home, accompanied by his wife, on the same day that the rest of us came home by train.

Aside from that notable event, the rest of the holiday went very well. In advance it had looked as though the weather would be very bad, but actually the clouds came in and it started to snow only on the last day. I went out with JW anyway despite the difficult conditions, and enjoyed his graceful dives into a couple of soft snow drifts. It started to snow again when it was lunchtime and we were just next to a restaurant; when we were ready to carry on the snow had stopped, so that was perfect.

One afternoon I decided to stay out a bit longer than my companions, and confirmed the fact that I have absolutely no sense of direction or navigational skills. I planned a route that would definitely not take me into an adjacent valley, only to find myself in the adjacent valley on a slope that was challenging to say the least. I managed to get myself back, but skied for about an hour longer than was sensible.

Back home I had to return to all the aspects of life that disappear on holiday. I took mum for a CT scan, which she found very helpful and I found very interesting. My main role was translating and transmitting whatever the various clinicians say to mum because they a) mumble and/or speak very fast b) use jargon c) have strong accents and d) don't look at her when they talk. 

At Lola Towers there is still water penetrating through my front wall. Glf (current favourite of all my tradesmen) came and had a look and we have a plan that includes contacting Severn Trent Water to see if it might be a leak around the water meter. The third estate agent visited; his estimate comes somewhere between the first and the second. Before I put it on the market I have decided to get the front painted, if it ever stops raining. I'm still waiting for a decorator to give me a date before the end of February to do some of the interior painting that's needed, and if we get on OK I'll ask if he'll do the outside work too. If not, estate agent 2 gave me a possible lead.

Slightly festive greetings

September 2025

Christmas is a low key affair at Lola Towers - I turned down all invitations, although some lovely friends just said I could turn up and join them if I want. I planned some nice meals, lined up some films, took four books out of the library and didn't get dressed or speak to a living soul all day. Bliss.

The week leading up to the holiday was just like usual - went to a film with Nameless Man, spent a day with a friend from Nottingham, Muscles put me through my paces, and despite reservations I returned to Monday badminton and had a great time. Phew. At mum's we continue to go through the contents of the two rooms that need to be cleared out to accommodate me. Mum is glad to be doing it; I find throwing things away or recycling them cathartic. The dehumidifier has been set up in the kitchen.

I advertised my huge bookcase and the first person who expressed an interest didn't turn up and stopped responding to emails, the second sent a very apologetic message that after measuring again it was actually too big, and the third didn't respond when I came back to them. I'll give it another go after Christmas.

As I was loading up the photo I took of the bookcase for the online listing, I noticed a large patch of damp on the wall - I hadn't seen it at all when I was taking the photo or using the room. I still had the dehumidifier at that point so I set that going for a couple of days and the patch has faded somewhat. It might be a one-off because there's an air brick on the other side of the wall, but it might be just one more thing that needs sorting out.

Last event of the season was a very cold Boxing Day walk around Kenilworth Castle, with blue skies and sunshine followed by homemade mince pies, treacle tarts and mulled non-alcoholic wine. And so ends another Christmas.

Progress

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, December 2025

The third visit from Lee the plumber at Maternal Manor was supervised by Lola II. He continued to track the pipes under the kitchen floor and extended the trench towards the sink, and at last found a leak. Both Lola II and I greeted this news with great joy and the observation that we've never been so glad to discover a broken pipe. After a brief discussion of what to do next, we all agreed that the full length of the pipes should be uncovered, and thank goodness it was because a second leak was found further along. Lee replaced the whole section of pipe and lagged and protected it properly; now we're waiting for his report for insurance claim purposes. Meanwhile I took possession of the promised dehumidifier (which I'll take there next time I visit) which will remove as much of the water as possible before the trench is filled in, and then redecorating can start.

GRUHI has been going slowly but steadily. I managed to give away the tennis racquet via the Olio online platform, but nearly didn't. Olio seems to be used by young people, and the prospective recipient relied very heavily on WhatsApp to the extent that when he messaged me that he was outside the door and I didn't answer immediately, he considered going away again. I did see the message after a few minutes and went down to open the door, asking why he hadn't rung the doorbell. He seemed somewhat surprised at this suggestion. Make of that what you will.

Having lost so much weight (6kg now) I thought I'd revisit a bag of trousers that I grew out of but kept because I was particularly fond of them 40 years ago. They are all a similar size which is still considerably smaller than I am now, and I painfully resolved to part with them, with support from Lola II (who has been reading a book about decluttering). They and more surplus clothes have now gone to the clothes bin at the supermarket, to Action 21 along with a box of books and some random household ephemera, and a blanket and old duvet have gone to the The Dog's Trust after Guide Dogs said they didn't want them. I haven't yet advertised the big bookcase, the electronic piano and the tenor saxophone.

My Diabetes Prevention Programme coach is very encouraging, but still highly unsatisfactory in terms of providing anything other than someone to be accountable to. I ignore her advice which mostly consists of suggesting that I eat more. This advice is clearly intended to help moderate blood sugar spikes, but I am focussing more on calories and portion sizes which seems to be working so far in terms of weight. I have asked for a repeat blood test but the doctor has told me to wait until the end of February, so I'll have to wait some more to find out if all my efforts have made any difference in that respect.

There's been plenty of exercise, particularly over one 24-hour period when I did an hour with my personal trainer, went to Coventry for a gig where I stood for 1½ hours then danced my socks off for 1½ hours then had to run for the train, and next morning joined my U3A ramblers for 2½ hours. That was all quite tiring, but the gig was fantastic and I picked up the dehumidifier at the end of the walk, so worth it. My Monday badminton was slightly difficult, however, when they put on the regular end-of-year competition and I came very definitely in last place. Not so long ago (or so it seems) I was in contention for the winning position. My self-esteem was somewhat restored when I played in a match with my Thursday badminton ladies which we won.

The kitchen roof at Lola Towers started to leak during one of the recent storms, and quite a lot of water came through. It hasn't repeated this performance, but I invited the roofer recommended by Glf to have a look at it, and he came back the very next day to fix it. Standing on the roof with a cup of tea we had a very interesting conversation about the lack of young people interested in following the sort of trades that are needed, and then we talked about the painting I need at the front of the house. It gave me a good deal of food for thought around whether I want a cash trader working from a ladder or someone in a business working from a scaffold tower. The answer is now much clearer, especially after my experience of the dangerous pointing work.

Bomber Command

International Bomber Command memorial, Lincoln, October 2025

Since coming back from the retreat, which isn't all that long ago, I have managed to maintain a less busy programme. So far, so good.

So what is significant enough to mention? 

I've been spending quality time watching films and going to a Ukelele concert with Nameless Man. At the moment he is busy setting up a Library of Things, which is where you can borrow items like a hedge trimmer or a long ladder or a set of spanners or a wheelbarrow - things that you don't need very often but are very useful to borrow when you do. He's leased a small shop and together with some local eco-warriors they are fitting it out and acquiring what they need and setting up the necessary socials and webs. I find my chats with him very useful - we share the same fundamental values, I think, so when he's done some research into something I can just follow his lead, and he encourages me to do the right thing. This week I walked to Morrisons to do my shopping rather than driving.

The music group has started up for a new term, and the baritone sax parts for two of the five pieces have not a semiquaver rest all the way through - I have to say I find this kind of arrangement tiresome. Muscles the Personal Trainer and regular badminton continue to help me improve my physical state, and there was great news at the optician where nothing has deteriorated for a year. For mental exercise I've managed to attend the U3A board games group and a day at the Birmingham Buddhist Centre on the subject of ethics.

Inside the spire

The LTRP continues with a bit of remedial plumbing and - at last - a visit from the recommended roofer to look at the stained patch of ceiling in the porch, and some more areas of concern in the hall. He had a good look and his verdict is that most of the problem is condensation, and the bit that isn't condensation is probably due to the construction of the turret over the front door. I tend to agree with him, so I can deal with this in the spring.

In other acronym news, I've been on a coach trip to the IBCC with the U3A. This is the International Bomber Command Centre, which is a memorial site in Lincoln dedicated to all those killed in WW2 who were working for Bomber Command, which I discovered was one part of the RAF (other parts included Transport Command, Fighter Command, Training etc.) I signed up for the trip because I know so little about this recent history of ours; other people I met on the trip were already fairly knowledgeable or were going because of a relative or friend who served. 

The memorial and exhibition was established fairly recently - it opened in 2018, and was well worth the visit. We had a guide who pitched his talk slightly higher than my level, but I still learned a great deal from him and from the exhibition there. Targeting civilian populations with bombs in order to destroy morale is certainly not an ethical issue that is confined to WW2.

View of Lincoln Cathedral behind ceramic poppies laid out in the shape of a Lancaster Bomber

On the brink?

Beautiful fungus, Worcestershire, March 2025

When I returned home from our Jolly Holiday (back in September) I discovered that since the boiler was serviced the previous Monday there had been no hot water or heating in Lola Towers, and UJ said she only noticed the previous day - she's been going to the gym and showering there. I panicked slightly and left a voicemail message for the boiler servicing company, then found the boiler manual. It was a very challenging document, but eventually I diagnosed that the boiler had simply not been turned on again after its service, so I did that, all seemed well, so I left a second message for the boiler servicing company, apologizing for the first.

With my two-week retreat coming up I had to squeeze a lot of stuff into a few days - contacting optician, roofer and plumber, voting in a local election, giving blood, Muscles the personal trainer followed by a massage, going to see mum. I contacted a book dealer recommended in Hay-on-Wye to see if they would be interested in dad's collection of books. We reckon there are about 400 to 500 of them. I also spoke to my coach for the Diabetes Prevention Programme. We had 20 minutes, which was fine given that I know all about diabetes and what I should or shouldn't eat, but I imagine it's completely inadequate if you don't already know all that stuff.

I also have more praise for my Local Garage. When the car broke down and I took it to the garage in Malvern, as well as fixing the problem they mentioned that the pressure in one of the tyres was low. I didn't do anything about it there and then, but knowing that I would be driving to south Wales and then the car would be immobile for two weeks, I didn't want to risk a slow puncture. Local Garage checked both front wheels (I couldn't remember which one had the problem) and didn't find anything specific, but took off both tyres and re-sealed them again and refused to charge me anything. This was the fourth time they hadn't charged me for work (previously they topped up the oil, changed a headlight bulb and replaced a bent wheel) but this time I managed to persuade them to take some money for their 'tip jar'.

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I've just returned from the two-week retreat to find a flyer from the local Green Party. Along with short pieces about our new roundabouts, fly-tipping, a demolition project and what the county council is doing about flood protection, there was a small notice letting me know the government's current recommendation is to store food and water and get a phone battery pack for 'short term interruptions to supplies.' I'm still not accessing any news beyond my local town, so this has come as a bit of a shock. Things seem to be getting worse out there.

Pointing

April 2025

Glf is a very good bloke as well as a bricklayer and did a wonderful job on my wall on the pub side, nearly four years ago now. So when I needed the chimneys pointing, he should have been my first port of call instead of the cowboys who persuaded me that they could do it without scaffolding.

The job involved a lot of coordination between the Glf and the company with the scaffolding, which led to a few weeks' delay.  They all turned up first thing on Friday to case the joint, plans were made and the scaffolding started to go up for the first chimney, which took all day. It was decided that a separate scaffold tower was needed for the other chimney, so that was erected the following Thursday. 

I actually climbed up to the top to have a look, and sat for a while just experiencing the discomfort of fear. I couldn't manage to take any pictures that time, but I overcame the fear and went up again a few days later and did take some of my own pictures - the weather was beautiful and I had a lovely view of my neighbours' gardens.

Glf appears to have done a similarly good job on the chimneys, and even came to my rescue and fixed things when the scaffold people broke my key safe. He wasn't able to help with a leak that is discolouring the ceiling right next to the front door, but has given me some contact details for roofers who may be able to help.

I haven't yet contacted the roofers because, in time-honoured fashion, I have taken on too much and have passed peak efficiency into a state of frazzled panic in case I forget anything important. I was looking forward to a clear weekend when I hoped to catch up, but sadly a family member died and I was called away. Lola II came with me and made the weekend much better (for both visitors and for host, I think) and we were even able to be useful by helping to look at possible venues for the food and drink after the cremation. 

With a stint of volunteering to come, I am trying to do just one thing at a time. When I remember to calm my mind, everything is fine.

Fiddling on the roof

Kyre Park Garden, October 2024

Before my solitary retreat I went on a weekend retreat with the Buddhists from Birmingham, for which I was designated Organiser. There wasn't a whole lot of organising to do, and as well as the scheduled sessions I had a chance to catch up with some of the people I'd got to know while I was volunteering at the retreat centre. I went straight from there to my week's solitary in an annexe to a cottage which had been designed for the purpose. The woman who owned it lived in the cottage, and we had a coffee and a lovely conversation at the end of the week.

I took off my watch when I arrived and didn't put it back on until the final morning, just keeping track of the days and letting everything else happen when it wanted to. I meditated, read a lot, wrote a little, went out for walks and did a lot of thinking. I took all my meals with me ready-prepared so I didn't have to do any shopping or cooking, and it was lovely. Next time I'll see if I can manage to extend it to ten days.

I returned to an empty house; UJ has gone back to Ukraine for a holiday. Next day I'd arranged for Hlf to come and do the pointing of the chimney stacks. Hlf's Sidekick and a young lad arrived quite late, and the Sidekick kept dashing off to look after other jobs, leaving the lad to do the work. I had a few conversations with him; he wasn't very happy - the roof was too steep to be safe and he was expected to work off ladders and sitting across the ridge. In the end he couldn't safely reach all the parts of the chimney that he was supposed to, and it was nearly dark by the time he'd finished what he could do.

The next day I went out to have a look, and wasn't happy with the half done job. I let Hlf know that I was concerned about the safety of his employee as well as the fact that I wasn't going to be paying the full amount because of the parts that hadn't been pointed. Then I looked online to see who might be able to get involved on the safety side of things - Trading Standards for Warwickshire direct you to the Citizen's Advice Bureau, so that's where I'm heading as soon as I get enough time to phone during office hours.

Next I was in London for two days thanks to a visit from Cousin M from Seattle. Mr M took us both on a tour of the area around the Barbican before handing us over to Lola II for afternoon tea at a Very Posh Hotel. It was very good, but the verdict was that the previous tea I'd had with Lola II had been slightly better. We went on to a performance of the musical Guys and Dolls which was slightly unusual because we took up the option of being part of the action. The stage was in the round and we stood alongside the actors and other members of the audience while different parts of the stage rose up so everyone could see what was going on. It was a terrific idea and was executed well, but standing up for the performance after walking around London for the day left me pretty tired.

I've filled my diary a little too much despite my resolution to try and leave space, but it's all been things I've enjoyed - visiting mum, going to the cinema (twice), my U3A walk, badminton, training with Muscles, cooking, and today I went to an event organised by LeamLETS, which is the trading system that works by its members offering services using a barter system. The event was mainly social and there were some lovely people there, but you could also bring things to trade. An opportunity for GRUHI! And what's more, people took some of my junk, and I talked to the woman who organises the trading table at the local Repair Café, so I'll be there next weekend in the hope of similar results.

Doing well

Helidon church, March 2024

Looking back, it's exactly three years since Glf the builder did such a good job of restoring and pointing my wall on the pub side. The reason for looking back is that the roofer pictured in the last blog post (newly named Hlf) highlighted that my two chimney stacks badly need pointing. I'm pretty sure that this was mentioned in the survey that was done when I bought the house more than twenty years ago, which just reminds me how far I've come since the time when I'm pretty sure I didn't know what pointing was.

Hlf discussed the options with me, decided that he could do the job without needing scaffolding, and has provided a quotation on that basis (and I only had to chase him twice). I asked Glf to come and have a look too but he wasn't prepared to take it on without scaffolding, and his quote (only one gentle reminder needed) is obviously twice as much as Hlf's. I'll offer it to Hlf, but being accustomed to the ways of the workmen I am very much prepared for him not to follow through, and then I'll fall back on Glf (who can't schedule the job until spring anyway).

Being able to take on workmen and get back to the LTRP has demonstrated that at the moment I am in pretty good shape, physically and mentally. This hasn't been the case for much of this year. Nothing dreadful, nothing specific, but I'd fallen into unhealthy and unhelpful habits which were proving tough to break. Several things have helped: the support of friends and family (often without them knowing about their part in my welfare), but also pulling myself together through meditation and reflection. The retreat in July gave me a really good opportunity to come up with a plan, which was slightly derailed by a couple of things, but is now working quite well. Apart from cutting out the chocolate and Wotsits, I have been seeing a Personal Trainer. Let's call him Muscles.

Muscles is young and fit (obviously) and has been leading me through some fairly gentle preliminary exercises involving what the experts describe as my 'core' muscles - pelvis, bum and abdomen mostly. Having been fairly fit in the past, I now recognise that I had really let myself go, despite playing badminton twice a week. I also recognise that while Muscles is quite an expensive option in comparison to classes at the local leisure centre, it is unlikely that I would achieve the same results under my own initiative.

I feel comfortable paying for Muscles because the payments ended for my orthodontic treatment a while ago, and now the alignment work is complete. It feels very strange to be without the aligners and I now seem to have developed the habit of unconsciously chewing my lips and the inside of my mouth which is very annoying. I have a night-time retainer to wear, and a visit to my new and slightly annoying dental hygienist has resulted in a further plea for additional attention to my night-time brushing routine.

As usual I've been cramming an enormous amount into my days, including the U3A walking and board games groups, a trip to the local Repair Café, my several Buddhist groups (in person and online), and my monthly music group. Leading up to each of the music sessions I inwardly groan about loading all the gear into the car and spending a whole afternoon with the group, but afterwards I'm always on a high for a day or two and ponder whether I've got time to squeeze more music into my life. This term the pieces that have been chosen are really good fun to play but also really hard, particularly for the baritone saxophone, which demands a lot of physical effort to play.

I also went to a comedy night featuring comedian Mark Watson. I was vaguely aware that he attended the same college as I did (many years after my time), but what I didn't know was that Suella Braverman, former Home Secretary and current Evil Gnome, was also there at the same time as him. I rather lost concentration on the comedy material for a few minutes when this became clear.

I'm going to have a bit of time off, with a weekend retreat leading into a week's solitary time. Now it's time to pack.

Mostly difficult stuff going on

Hlf, September 2024

Recently I visited mum and realised that I'd left one job so long that her email client (Outlook 2007) was going to stop working in less than a week - Microsoft no longer consider it secure because it's so old, and will prevent it from accessing her emails. So I swapped it for an alternative client, and the best part was that I also managed to upload her stored history of emails and her address book, which took a very long time but made me very happy to have achieved it. Then on the next visit I discovered that the new client was also blocked, and I managed to wrestle it to the ground and unblock it, but at the cost of losing all the emails that had arrived within a period of five days. Initially I thought I'd lost the whole Inbox and all the Sent items too, so losing just five days felt like a win.

I managed to go to the RSC to see The Merry Wives of Windsor. Whenever I go there, which is very seldom, I always vow I should go more. It's top quality theatre on my doorstep, so I don't know why I don't. And the roofers and my new glasses arrived on consecutive days in an expensive week. While the roofers were working I did a session of pruning in the garden - only three bags full, much more is needed.

Another thing that's been going on is renewing my car insurance. Over the years I have chosen to use a local broker for many of my policies - car, household, landlord insurance - but it has been well publicised that prices for insurance are rising. Generally what happens is that the broker gives me a quote, I go online and find the same cover at a lower price, and up to now they have managed to reduce their quote to something more acceptable. This time the renewal quote was £200 more than last year and when I went online the lowest quote was £170 less than this. I don't always choose the lowest quote, but the most common amount was still about £150 less than the broker, and they couldn't or wouldn't go anywhere near matching it. I don't quite see how they are going to survive on the High Street.

I've also been on retreat, which went very well - it was aimed at people who don't necessarily know anything about meditation or Buddhism, and so a) was much shorter than the heavy-duty retreats I've been attending and b) was at an introductory level in terms of teaching. But I chose it because it focussed on a topic that I've always found difficult, so I thought that starting from the beginning again might be useful. It was, but not in the way I expected. It was lovely to see people finding something they'd been looking for without knowing it, and to remember what I was like when I went on my first retreat at this centre when I didn't know who I was or what I wanted either. I've come a long way and all for the better.

I was going to carry on northwards for a weekend in York so arranged to drop in on H+B on the way. The York weekend had to be cancelled, but I went to H+B anyway, and talked about dismal things like the Office of the Public Guardian, Enduring Powers of Attorney, Executorship and Probate. But we wandered round the garden too, and admired the brickwork and freshly painted frontage of the house, and marvelled at the flat upstairs which is up for let at an eye-watering monthly sum. H is well, looks good, but is feeling his age (aren't we all). We agreed that the main thing for the avoidance of excruciating administrative entanglement is for H to remain alive for the time being, which thankfully he seems happy to do.

Speccy swotty four-eyes

September 2024

There is a small amount of repair work needed to the roof in a few places, and I invited Clf, the chap who'd worked on the roof before and two new companies to have a look at the job as well. Clf did not respond, one company arranged a time to visit and then didn't, and the other sent a lovely chap who flew a drone with a camera and did the quote there and then. Then, I procrastinated. In the past I have experienced the common phenomenon of a tradesman who doesn't really want the job quoting an outrageous amount, and I don't know what an outrageous amount is in this context, so I really wanted a second quote to compare. But I didn't get round to it.

The next chapter of the story involves my glasses. A few years ago my local independent sold out to a bigger organisation. In general I prefer an independent optician rather than one of the chains, and after a couple of visits I decided I'd look for a new independent. I found one in Warwick, but then a brand new practice opened in Leamington. That's where I went this week for a very thorough eye test, and they recommended a slight change to my prescription. What with super-thin lenses and varifocals it came to a stupendous sum, at which point I realised that the roofing quote was only about three-quarters of a pair of new glasses and I got in touch with the company and booked them in.

In the process of transferring from one optician to the other I got the old one to give me all of my records in a digital format, and then I passed these to the new optician. One of the reasons why I think I will stick with them is that they had a really good look at my history, and contacted me to propose a cheaper way of upgrading my glasses (taking the cost down to just equal to fixing my roof). And I gave them dad's old glasses to recycle for those in need, and then went through and photographed all my old glasses that I've kept since the age of about 16 and that's the picture at the top of the blog. I gave them five of my pairs to go off with dad's, kept two of the most recent, and we're putting the new lenses into another one.

The roofing company has been in touch to say that there's been a family emergency, so they need to rearrange the visit. We'll see which comes first - perfect vision or a non-leaking roof.

My left eye, September 2022

Rain, rain, go away

Vajraloka, May 2022

A while back I mentioned that the windows in Lola Towers are old and a bit leaky. A few have received attention as part of some other job, but it was time to replace the hinges on five upstairs windows. Doors and Windows Ulf arrived with sidekick and did the job, which included cleaning many of the old windows and adjusting a couple of the new doors that were giving a bit of trouble. He's a cheerful and helpful chap, and good to have around.

While he was up on the kitchen roof I took the opportunity of joining him to check the roof light, and to wipe it clean of moss to prevent leaks, as I'd been advised previously. Except this time it has had the opposite effect. At the moment I'm hoping for magical self-healing and have placed a towel on the kitchen worktop to catch the indoor precipitation, although Ulf has offered to come back and have a look when it finally stops raining. I am taking the same approach to my printer which is digging its heels in and refusing to function at all while reporting a non-existent paper jam. The Internet has offered a couple of fixes that haven't worked and then suggests contacting the manufacturer, which is usually a coded message for "time for a new printer."

My Buddhist study group has been in abeyance for a while, which gave me the opportunity to play badminton on a couple of Mondays. I miss that club! They are fun to be with and also to play with, and I look forward to the weeks when I can get there.

And, for the first time ever, I've been to our local theatre. I can't believe I've never done it before; it's a lovely little place by the river run by volunteers, with a small auditorium and a very cheap bar. UJ came with me to see Wyrd Sisters, a play based on the Terry Pratchett novel (which UJ has read), and we both enjoyed it. UJ commented in the interval that it isn't so easy for her without the subtitles, and she would have had the added difficulty of TP's very English puns and wordplay, and various characters were using quite thick regional accents, but I think she got the gist.

I'm hoping for an appearance soon by guest bloggers Lola II and/or Mr M to describe our adventures in London and Leamington, but until then, a last note regarding a message I received from mum. Over the years as maintenance has been needed she has discovered some staggering incompetence on the part of the tradesmen involved in the building of an extension, including the heating thermostat on the wall being entirely decorative, a pump installed the wrong way round, and much more. This time the downstairs toilet flush needed a bit of help and the plumber was duly called. In the course of his work he discovered, unbelievably, that it was plumbed into the hot water supply and has presumably been so ever since its installation by what must have been the most incompetent tradesman ever employed.

I'm nearly 60

Irvin, February 2023

During the ski trip there was a theme running through the week, which started on the overnight Eurostar going out. I found myself in the small hours, still awake and trying to get comfortable enough to sleep by lying on the floor rather than sitting up in a chair. "I'm nearly 60," I thought. "I don't think my younger self would have anticipated that I'd be lying on the floor of a train trying to sleep when I'm nearly 60." Subsequently, when on previous trips I'd have been working out when the last ski lift would enable me to get home at the end of the day, on this trip at about 2.30 p.m. we started to consider getting back for a bath and supper. "After all, we're nearly 60..."

Then last week I played in two badminton matches. Towards the end of the second one I completely ran out of steam. Luckily I was paired with a much younger partner who did all the running about that I would previously have considered to be my role. I'm really am nearly 60, in so many aspects of life.

Coming back from the ski trip I was expecting UJ to reappear within a couple of days. She had gone home to fetch her cat and I thought she had made all the arrangements and booked transport, but arrangements can be altered and cancelled, and she gave me a new date when she was planning to come without the cat. That date also came and went, and now it may be March. I'm not holding my breath.

Before she went, she drew my attention to the draughty state of the windows in her room, and she has a point. So I called upon Doors and Windows Ulf, who diagnosed old hinges and has gone away to order some new ones. So that needs to happen at some point.

The Film Festival run by Mr M and Lola II went swimmingly as usual, with a new introductory trailer and a fantastic advertisement for Random Cuts, the hairdressing service offered by Lola II ("Only 15 minutes bus ride from the nearest A&E!") My music group restarted, there's the usual Buddhist activity, and I was able to take in another dog, called Irvin. Only for 24 hours, which was quite enough - he's not done much training, and it shows! I've been spoiled by the dogs that are later in their training like Caddie and Pat.

The dental work is going fairly well, I've been allowed to move on to my sixth set of aligners (out of 37), and yesterday I had one of my back molars extracted by my very lovely dentist. It's a shame that I see him mainly for painful treatments. In fact, despite the difficulty of the extraction and the state of the resulting extraction site, it hurts very little today. The dentist's commentary as we went along was also interesting - I had to have extra anaesthetic because of my 'interesting jaw anatomy' and apparently I'm very good at clotting. I told him that this information will all be very useful when I create my online dating profile.

Another year ended

Buda palace, December 2022

Happy New Year to all my 30 or so readers. If you've been waiting for an invitation to let me know who you are, please do write me a comment! I'm intrigued.

Anyway, the old year ended with a few lovely events and a couple that weren't so much fun. I managed to achieve a blood donation, the 49th that is recorded with the service (although I'm pretty sure that a few in the early days have been missed). Then there was my initiation into the Invisalign system which is going to straighten my teeth with the aim of preventing them falling out and helping to reduce the chronic refractory periodontitis. However, one tooth is already scheduled for extraction in January, and both the orthodontist and periodontist are pessimistic about another one, and I'm starting to think they might be right. I have many, many appointments to come so if you are a fan of teeth you will find much to enjoy in the next 18 months.

Among the happier events, Pat the dog has come to stay again, this time for a whole week without respite because the training centre is closed. This is the longest time that I've been the primary carer for any living being. She is a sweet dog and getting on well with her training too, and she would very much like me to play with her now but I am writing this instead, so she has just settled herself on the floor and emitted a sigh of resignation.

I joined Lola II and Mr M for Christmas for a change, and went to see 'It's a Wonderful Life' with them on Christmas Eve, For several years they have gone for a lunchtime walk and picnic with a group of friends on Christmas Day, so that's what we did. The day included a Secret Santa event (with gifts costing no more than £3), the playing and singing of carols, supper, and pass the parcel. I'm not sure what my perfect Christmas would be, but despite this involving much more interaction with other people than I would wish it was actually pretty good. Thank you Lola II and Mr M.

Between Christmas and New Year, apart from the blood donation and Pat the dog, I had a visit from a chap to fix the induction hob after it was previously fixed. Poor UJ had dropped a heavy cast iron pot lid on it and cracked the glass - as I returned home she met me at the front door to tell me that something dreadful had happened, and I thought it was some awful calamity involving Russian missiles and family in Kyiv, so when it was just cracked glass it felt quite trivial in comparison. Anyway, the repair man came and replaced it with very little fuss, and if I had paid more attention the first time then a second visit wouldn't have been necessary. The problem was a mismatch between the markings on the glass and the touch activation, so that I had to touch the controls about 1 cm to the right of the marking. Fixing this took the second repair man about 5 minutes.

I had the option to go to the Buddhist Centre for New Year's Eve, but I couldn't quite face the uncertainty of taking Pat with me not knowing how she would behave, so I just watched a film and read a book and had a quiet time. I took advantage of Pat's presence by arranging walks with five different friends - one of them after Pat had gone because we were both too busy beforehand.

And Ilf came for another day of helping out with things that need drilling, painting and/or two people, including hanging pictures, fixing the downstairs toilet door and the verandah outside, and a bit of painting. I did all the necessary cleaning following Pat's visit, although all her bedding is still in the boot of the car ready to go to the launderette. All is shipshape again and looking good for 2023.

Pat the dog