Lums

I was sitting in a breakfast room in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Six o'clock in the morning
Got up too early, it was a terrible mistake
Sittin' there face-to-face with a 75¢ glass of orange juice about as big as my finger
And a bowl of horribly fore-shortened corn flakes
And I said to myself, "This is the life… "

There are 3 chimney certificates on the kitchen table. One of the joys of being responsible for 3 chimneys. I like the calm orange/salmon glow of them. The idea of framing them flits across my forebrain before vanishing into a frontal lobal fold.

I’m at Johnstone’s decorating centre by 7:45 to collect 60 litres of paint ... that they haven’t made up yet. With a whopping 5 hours of sleep under my belt I’m raaaaaaring to go. And so to work.

The day unwinds - and I remain (practically) awake. I even wend my way safely to B&Q Hermiston Gate for wallpaper paste and filler, before joining the steady queue of rush hour polluters heading over the bridge.

Owen has run for the train. Hamish is somewhere trying to squeeze a bed into his sports car. So, Claire and I do several trips up and down six flights of stairs with bulk decorating consumables.

A sales call happily fails to materialise and I pass out. I’ll worry about my lack of clean clothes in the morning.