A hen in exchange for a fish on a dish!

This is the hen that was made by Lynda Jennings which I exchanged for a framed lino-print of fish on a dish.

I'm writing this the morning after (it seems to happen to my blips these days). I've acquired a cold so fell asleep yesterday evening (but then I had been awake since 4 am!)

Another busy day yesterday - it had occurred to me later on Sunday that we hadn't checked the attic room to see if water was puddled on the floor up there. So Ann and I went back over to mums to see what was happening and to have a bit of a clear out. We found it to be very damp on the end walls but there was no sign of a puddle.

So while we were up there we started on a big clear out - my old paper chest emptied of damp paper. (I found a collection of drawings I'd done at college!) Lots of empty boxes that had once contained computer screens/ printers etc. Two old and smelly and rather damp canvas tents, cross-country ski's, pitons and a hammer, two elderly ice-axes (museum pieces) and lots more. So a few things rescued and lots more loaded into the car to take to the dump-it site, by which time it was raining heavily again.

Back at mums we found the ceiling dripping water again on top of paper that I'd left on a chest of drawers in her room (it was dry when we left) . So more towels and containers produced to catch the drips and another phone call to the wonderful Alan who's supposed to be sorting things out - I fear he might prove a disappointment and we'll need to find someone else. I now suspect the problem is coming from the chimney stack rather than from the roof itself. Alan is coming back to look this afternoon so we'll see what happens then!

Drive home in the dark through whooshing pools of water standing in the roads. Fortunately we haven't had it as bad as some and at least she hasn't been flooded. As for us the water carries on down the hill and floods the stream at the bottom of the hill so we've been OK too.