Sunday November 26th 2023

The only thing that matters today is going to be somehow keeping warm and not freezing to death! Here Lois and I are, teen-grandchild-sitting for our daughter Ali and husband Ed, in a vast crumbling Victorian mansion, where the heating's broken down - just what you want when the temperature dips below freezing, isn't it!

We wake up to a frost, as forecast - yikes !!!!

My body may be freezing but I have a warm feeling in my heart when I get out of bed, because under the bedclothes, while Lois was still asleep, I've ordered an oscillating fan heater from Argos: I did it all under the duvet, including changing my "delivery address" and paying by Paypal, without waking Lois. And it's going to be delivered today between 2pm and 5pm. I'm wonderfully modern sometimes - you would not BELIEVE!!!!!

Isn't technology wonderful !!!!

In the meantime we have to get through the day until the heater arrives. 

08:00 Lois is microwaving some porridge for us both in the microwave in Ed's office when she spots a portable radiator that nobody told us about. This seems like good news, but we can't work out how to switch it on. Damn!!!!

I have to text Ali in Berlin to find out. She and Ed have been meeting up with couples they got to know when they lived in Copenhagen from 2012 to 2018.

I get it to switch on, but it turns out you have to be practically sitting on it to feel any warmth. What madness!!!

My Plan B swings into action: I put my dressing-gown on over my clothes and wear a hot-water-bottle round my waist.

15:30 The Argos delivery guy brings our shiny-new oscillating fan heater - hurrah!!!! It's only a 2.5 KW but it does a reasonable job in the family room, and it only costs about £27 - it would be ridiculous to spend any more than that, though, wouldn't it. Be fair !!!!

Josie (17) showcases the shiny-new heater in the family room

We enjoy the new-found heat with Rosalind (15)

Meanwhile Ali and Ed have been in Berlin socialising with the couples they met when they were living in Copenhagen, first and foremost with Alex and Nick. 

(left to right) Nick and Alex, Ed and Ali

Ali and Alex in the back of a supercharged Berlin "uber"

Alex is English just like you and me, but unlike us, she's a hotshot journalist on the German news channel Deutsche Welle (DW). I think maybe she's their "British correspondent" to judge from these pics I found on the web. But let me know what YOU think!

And judging from these pics, Alex has obviously been in post longer than Liz Truss was, but I supposed that wouldn't be too difficult would it haha!!!

18:00 It becomes apparent that there are delays with Ali and Ed's Easyjet flight home: it's going to be about 40 minutes or so late taking off from Berlin Brandenburg: the aircraft they're going to be flying in has arrived from London, but the passengers can't get out because the airport control mechanisms for the doors have malfunctioned. Isn't technology awful !!! What a crazy world we live in !!!!!

Later on my smartphone I monitor their aircraft's progress through Germany and into Benelux, and then into British air space - isn't technology wonderful !!!!

19:30 We settle down with the grandchildren to watch the results of the viewers' vote after yesterday's "Strictly Come Dancing", the UK version of "Dancing with the Stars".

One of the couples gets eliminated - I gather that much. And this is later confirmed by rubbishnews.com.

21:00 We thought Ali and Ed would be back home by now, but it turns out that they've been held up by a big traffic jam on the M25 round London, due to an accident.

The grandchildren have disappeared, so Lois and I watch another programme about Blondie: Blondie at the BBC.

And who doesn't remember Debbie Harry's bombshell first appearance on Top of the Pops in that iconic red dress, back in 1978?

Happy days !!!!

22:00 Ali and Ed arrive home at last.

Ali, back from Berlin at last

Ed is already in the boiler-room, trying unsuccessfully to fix the boiler. It's an unusual type and tomorrow he'll have to call out their "boiler guy", but Ed says he's a "manana manana" kind of a guy, so who knows when he'll turn up - damn !!!!!

Brrrrrr!!!!

Will that do?

[Oh just go to bed and warm yourselves up! - Ed]

22:30 We go to bed - zzzzzzz!!!!!