Ladder

On Wednesday, after he'd spent the evening at the top of my stepladder painting the kitchen ceiling, Firstborn pointed out its embarrassing state. He asked when the first safety catch had broken and I rather sheepishly told him that a builder borrowed the ladder and broke it about 25 years ago. He said that the second safety catch was bent and I told him I'd hammered it back into approximate shape about 20 years ago. He reminded me that falls from height were one of the most common injury-causing incidents on building sites and in homes. He didn't explicitly forbid me from using it again but we went out to the pub instead of doing any more painting. (We did not discuss how many accidents are caused by alcohol.)

On Thursday I asked our Facilities Manager at work for advice about buying a ladder. He told me where to look online for advice and added that falls from ladders at work were the most common reason for people never being able to return to work.

Yesterday I was down to a shortlist of two and chose the one that could be delivered today along with the next pot of paint.

I'm absurdly pleased with this and the old one is on the garden path part-way to the metal reclamation yard.