Best-laid plans...

Pushing the button to start our Toyota hybrid at 7.45 this morning, en route to pick Luca up, I was greeted with a hearty roar rather than the usual discreet purr.

Ah. Someone had stolen the catalytic converter in the night. I knew that as soon as I heard the noise. Not a good start to the day. Cheeky b*****s - the car was on the drive, right up close to the house.

We're lucky; we have a second car, so I went off to get Luca & dealt with the trail of phone queues and online forms when we got back. Richard and Luca played and read stories together. I learned that it's really no longer possible to report a crime by phone; the waits are endless. It's not quick online either, but the system spat out (or dribbled out?) a crime number eventually. The message also informed me that the police have a 12 day backlog in processing reports. Another dreary facet of 2022 in the UK.

The day got better after that, and later Luca, Frieda and Eben all enjoyed tea together at Ruth & Josh's.