Dear Marmite
Happy Deepavali, Marms, and stay off those wonderful sweets...I miss you.
Now I am eight hours behind you. The clocks seemlessly went back one hour last Sunday which effectively meant another hour in bed for everyone in the UK. Everything in my house except my wall clock and my body clock understood this. I sprung to life around 5:15am and was ready to hit the day. To be honest my body clock still hasn't made that small adjustment. What is wrong with me?
Last Sunday wasn't actually worth getting up for. I played wall-to-wall Canasta, with my friend who was staying with me. Meanwhile, a storm ripped through the countryside and tore many trees down. It blew most of the leaves off my tree in the garden and it blew down the ceanothus by my front door. This was probably about 3 metres high and was firmly fixed to the fence before the storm. I have given it a good pruning, wrestled it back in place - who knew that trees fight back? and - pinned it back against the fence. Despite the fight, it doesn't look too worse for wear, even though I say so myself.
One of my peacocks fell victim to the storm too. It lost its tail and now lays in two pieces on my balcony. I want to get this fixed but am not too sure how. Some friends thought this peacock was a real one. I can reassure you, Marms, I would act much faster if it was a real animal in trouble. Well, nearly all real animals - rats are an exception to my rule.
Effin' M&S have exceded expectations once again. They are the rats of customer service! This week they sent yet another cushion cover to me to replace the original one that has a flaw in the material. This time it arrived at the correct address for which I must thank them. It is also the right style - no piping this time. Again this is an advance on previous attempts. However, this time it is the wrong colour - this one is a few tones too green and is noticeably different from the other covers. I have emailed them but unsurpisingly no one has bothered to reply as yet. The saga continues...
My woes are manifold. I ordered flooring for my living room and kitchen area. It was in stock and it arrived on time to the right place. I also co-ordinated all this with finding a contractor to lay the flooring two days after delivery. What could possibly go awry, I asked myself. Well. the contractor delayed the arrangement to the Friday and then didn't show up or answer his phone. Finally he re-arranged fitting to the Monday and then the same thing happened. I was more than irked by this as I have cleared my living room of all but the heavy furniture. It is an echoey cave now and not comfy at all.
So having carted all things moveable out of the way, I now await a time when someone will come and fit 23 boxes of wooden flooring that I have currently stored downstairs, creating an obstacle course! I started to feel really angry that Phil the floorer had stood me up until I found out that he was in hospital in a critical condition. My stance on him has since softened somewhat.
So, Marms, as you can see life is not easy here on so many levels. The weather gets more wintery every day and, as I realised once more yesterday while on a walk around Woburn, that I do not have the clothes to keep me warm and dry. It really was a lovely walk spoilt only by a perpetual downpour that went through my "waterpoof" jacket and my clothes until I resembled a drowned rat.
Damp and rather less than upbeat I returned home to a house in darkness. There had been a power outage to 190 homes in the village since 1pm and by the time I got home I was in total darkness and it was cold. I couldn't make any coffee - obviously - so I climbed into bed and read my kindle. It would have been so much better if you had been here to cuddle.
But as it is, you are a long way away and in a far better place.
I love you soooo much and think about you every day, you wonderful old man. Please keep the pictures coming!
Love
XXX
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