Monday June 17th 2024 "I'm leaving the wife and taking the lawn-mower"

Have you noticed how some couples and families that you know always seem to be fighting? 

"How can people cope with that level or disruption in their lives?" is what my ever-sceptical wife Lois and I always say! "Why DO they do it?", is what we often ask ourselves.

And if YOU are in that kind of relationship, have YOU ever thought how you could arrange your lives a little better? Like that family in Nob End, the Oddies, who've now become quite famous locally for their organisational skills, to put it mildly!

Unlike the Oddies, Lois and I are becoming famous locally for being at the other end of the spectrum, i.e. for never having fights, but I must say that our patience is being sorely tested this week because we're starting off the week with two afternoons which we can't spend in bed, which always makes us what-I-call "scratchy" - do you know what I mean? We need our afternoon nap-time to stay sane some weeks - I expect YOU do too, don't you!

Today, Simon from Hillary's blinds turns up with a colleague to instal an awning over part of our south-facing patio, and tomorrow we've got Sam from LCH Heating coming to service our gas central-heating boiler and radiators.

Simon from Hillary's Blinds

Sam of LCH Plumbing and Heating van fame

What madness!!!! Why can't these "tradespeople" - those guys that the Australians call "tradies" - yes, why CAN'T these "tradies" keep their mornings a bit less cluttered with other engagements so that they can fit us in before lunch, which I always try and specify whenever I call to fix a time with them. It isn't exactly rocket science is it - come on, guys, you can "do it without B&Q-ing it" to parody the famous, now-"rebooted", TV commercial haha!

I have to say, though, that, even though we're missing not having had our nap, Lois and I are pretty pleased with our shiny-new patio awning with its remote-control action, after Simon instals it, and goes off to his next job. 

our patio BEFORE....

..and AFTER - when Simon has installed 

our shiny new awning

With the British climate, there won't be many days when we'll want to shield ourselves from the sun, but, as Lois says, we'll able to dry our weekly wash there on our so-called "airers" even during violent thunderstorms, which is a nice thought!

flashback to May 2023, and the first time our daughter

Sarah hangs some of her family's washing out on our patio

after the family's return from 7 years in Australia

Good times a-coming haha !!!!!

20:00 We're both a bit tired and "scratchy" this evening, and longing to get into bed as early as we decently can without the neighbours getting suspicious. So what better preparation could there be than a repeat of the old 1970's sitcom "Are You Being Served?" on the Drama TV channel.

In this episode, "Hooray for the Holidays", from 1974, the long-to-very-long-suffering staff at Grace Brothers Department Store are being asked by management to take their holidays in the same 2 weeks of the year, so that the store can close for refurbishment. 

Mr Mash, the store's stock and maintenance man, played by Larry Martyn, objects to the management plan, saying he's already booked a holiday for later in the year, and he can't cancel it.

Aaaaah, that kind of stuff! It never gets old, does it haha!

21:00 We go up for our early night....zzzzzzzz!!!!!