Houses old and new

Blipped on the Cotswold canal at Bowbridge. I walked into town via the canal to meet AK for a drink at the Lock Keepers. Being the sort of Lady that Lunches, I ordered a jacket potato. What luxury! Afterwards, A bought me a gluten free flapjack. It looked like a piece of high-density cork tile, or a sanding block. Mmm, 1970s cork. Yum yum. Rain started falling, so we had to go inside. We found it very dim in the interior, until we realised we were both still wearing sunglasses.

On the way to my work, I spotted a shelving unit. White MFI-Type, just what I'd been looking for for weeks. I bought it for £10, Steve picked it up while I was at work. When I got home I found I had exactly the right size of storage baskets to fit in it. Perfect for storing all the gubbins I need to take to market. Just load the baskets and go! That's the idea. The cards have all been reboxed too. Next weekend will be the crucial loading/unloading test .

Later, I managed to get injured in the Line of Duty. No, I did not get shot because I'm not DI Kate Fleming, but it was nasty. Fortunately I had paracetamol and CBD oil on me, and was allowed to take time out. I must make sure I take time to read the children's files before I work with ones I don't know well.

Came home and started sorting the Horrid Mess that was caused by removing a bookshelf and installing the new white shelf unit. Work stopped for the football, but somehow I was cooking Steve's tea, and then mine, and tripping over piles of old biscuit tins and labels all at the same time. England beat Ukraine 4-0, and not a single cheer was to be heard in our street. Perhaps we're actually living in Ukraine, and I hadn't noticed. England will play Denmark next week in the semi-finals.

Next, I got a sad, sad email to say that the Green Gathering has been cancelled. This is a festival I've been planning to go to this month, with my sister and niece. It's in Chepstow, and I fully support the Welsh Government's desire to impose CoVid restrictions, but I'm sorry to be missing out on the fun for another year. I was so keen I even bought my ticket in December last year! Now all I've got is a free water bottle for booking early, and the promise of Next Year in Chepstow.

My sister is still coming to visit, and I guess I'll have plenty of new places to show them because GG and I have had such larks this year on our Sunday lockdown walks. GG is still in hospital. Apparently she was brought in in her wellies, and doesn't even have a radio. Crikey, I hope she's got spare knickers. Maybe one should always have a bag packed, just in case. Like, you know, when you're nine months pregnant, or you live in fear of the immigration department or an abusive partner.

Excuse the dark thoughts, but while I was finishing the Horrid Mess clearances, I watched the final episode of Sophie on Netflix. It concerns the murder in 1996 in West Cork of a Frenchwoman, Sophie Toscan du Plantier, who was beaten to death in her nightclothes outside her house on 23 December 1996. Most people feel sure that they know the killer, an Englishman, who is still at large in the town (this is not a spoiler, it's common knowledge). I urge you to watch it if you have an interest. It is not grisly, but it does highlight the issue of domestic violence and how at the time the Gardai (Irish police) regarded it as nothing out of the ordinary.

Went to bed at 1.30 am. Goodbye, mess.