Monday 31 May 2010

House Martins

The House Martins have arrived today and they look a bit shell shocked. They're searching for their old nests among the Heanor Haulage buildings that aren't there any more. At least they're getting plenty to drink in all the puddles ...

Friday 28 May 2010

Somewhat Annoyed!!

I was minding my own business in the land of nod this morning when I SUDDENLY!!!! became aware that there were urgent doings happening outside. I say urgent as it was just after 7.00am so it obviously wasn't work being done on the Asda site, because - bless em - they don't start making a noise before 8.00am [apart from arriving which doesn't count].

Drrrr ... Drrrr ... Drrrr ... SqueeeeeeeeeK !! Over and over again, interspersed by lots of shouting. I launched out of bed at speed - look, I'm not explaining again how this really works regards speed, but let's just say I got to the window eventually. I was fully expecting to see men up to their knees in water [Severn Trent have been much in evidence lately], desperately trying to repair a BIG leak.

And now for the annoying bit - I couldn't believe my eyes ... The desperately urgent work was two men sawing and screwing lats onto the hoarding in the turnaround bit - which I might add has been up for over two weeks with no signs of needing this bit of decoration!


I was fuming! Now I know I'm grumpy but I don't do much in the way of moods or losing my temper, I consider it a wasted, negative emotion which only results in me having a headache, so usually I just mutter and grumble to myself and get over it.

On the rare occasion that I have 'a little moment', I've always found myself back where I started, thinking ... did that really happen? Wasn't I here the whole time and just imagined that I'd lost it for a few seconds in a ' I wish I dare go and say that to their faces' kind of way?' Then blushing to my [undyed] roots as it finally dawns on me that I was indeed that 'brave gobby person'.

Ahem, there were witnesses to my 'little moment' - namely the grumpy old man downstairs making my coffee and one neighbour laughing at me from her bed and just about to text me to see if I'm awake - ha bloody ha!

I didn't swear, when I have 'a moment' I'm unusually restrained in the bad language department. I stuck my head through the window and shouted -

 'WHY DON'T YOU MAKE A BIT MORE NOISE? I'M NOT PROPERLY AWAKE YET!' followed by 'DON'T YOU THINK WE'VE GOT ENOUGH TO PUT UP WITH ALL DAY WITHOUT YOU STARTING THIS EARLY?' See, ladylike and proper if somewhat fishwify volume-wise.

Shortly after the GOM went out and explained in much more measured tones that work doesn't normally start until 8.00am, they apologised and replied that they'd signed in and nobody told them not to start work. Do men actually need everything writing down in triplicate to make them realise that making so much noise in a big square that echo's every sound, might just wake some grumpy people up if they start so chuffing early?

Do the same men also need telling that they shouldn't just leave half a dozen unused screws on the road for the GOM to pick up [and throw back over the hoarding - I know, I didn't believe that bit myself, he usually saves screws and ... well, everything really].

If I was at all able to work out how to actually dial a number that isn't stored in the memory on my super whizzo phone [too old to do technology before coffee]. I'd have phoned the site manager and told him what I thought. Believe me, I tried. I was pressing numbers on the keypad and just kept getting 'no contacts' until I gave in.

By the time I'd finally sussed how to do it I'd completely run out of steam [and had my dinner] ... Oh yes, and to add insult to injury I'd realised [by then] that I'd been sat next to a normal plumbed in telephone, the sort with proper big numbers - maybe you can tell I just don't 'do' mornings ...

Thursday 27 May 2010

Asda Buying Netto

Well I suppose as Asda is buying Netto in the UK, this means we may have rather a chunky sized Asda in Langley Mill after all.

From what I've read, Netto will be coming under the Asda brand by the middle of 2011 [assuming they get approval from the Office of Fair Trading], and as Asda will be virtually neighbours with Netto in Langley Mill, we're making bets amongst ourselves that there will be different departments in each.

Now, ahem, if Asda were to play at all fair, they'd sell Langley Mill's Netto to Tesco - yeah right! That has to be one of my funniest ideas this week. Although it is quite possible that Asda will sell our Netto.

... Or, looking at the plans, if I were Asda:

I'd shove [a new construction term for you there RG group] the new store over to the left a bit as far as Wesley Street instead of having parking spaces there. Then have deliveries on the Bridge Street side of the store. They could then have a walk through - yes, I realise it may slope a bit - to the back of Netto/Asda for non-food departments. [shame Asda's plans are all done and dusted]. Doing that would really, really annoy Tesco at Heanor.

I think Asda should let me work for them at finding ways to annoy Tesco - I do it so well. What am I saying? I'm already doing it for free!

Time for the latest rumours - there aren't many so I may have to start making them up:
  1. Asda have bought Nether Green service station [Esso].
  2. Tesco in Heanor has bought Cross Keys and Memory Lane pubs for their new petrol station.
  3. Heanor Haulage still own the land straight in front of us and behind us.
Oops, how did that last one get in amongst the rumours, tut tut - it's a fact isn't it? [but I don't like them feeling left out].

Of course, being me, I've looked at all the recent plans and even if these rumours were true, they haven't applied for any planning permissions - yet ...

Monday 24 May 2010

Argos Vouchers And Bargain Prices

Last month I bought a vital piece of equipment [3 mobile broadband] from Argos at a time when £5 and £10 vouchers were being issued depending on how much was spent.

I received a £5 voucher.

Now the last time I got one of these I forgot all about it - as it turns out this was the very best thing I could have done.

I've got until 25th May to spend it and it's burning a hole in my purse. The only trouble is, there's nothing I actually need from Argos - now, want is an entirely different matter, there's a huge and ever growing list of things that I desperately want.

I was, fairly sensibly [and cheaply] going to buy a pot of jewellery cleaner with my £5 voucher to leave at 'the manor' as I do love my bits to sparkle, but last week the grumpy old man spotted an offer 'too good to miss' in the newspaper - a breadmaker. Now bearing in mind I've already got a breadmaker taking up an inordinate amount of worktop space in my kitchen, I decided this was a bad idea.

'But we can keep it as a spare and use it at the caravan' he said. Hmm, I looked at the aforementioned breadmaker, it's not actually in the Argos catalogue so in my vast experience of 'sale prices', the 'too good to miss' bargain of a Cookworks breadmaker was very missable.

Have you ever noticed 'sale prices'? They're laughable, albeit genuine in a legal if not moral way [I say moral because this is nothing more than a legal con or hustle]. And I'm not just talking Argos here, they all do it, even with your Christmas turkey at Tesco. They quote a wonderful, better than 'HALF PRICE' bargain, stating quite truthfully that the item they're selling you has previously been on sale at a ridiculously high price that no-one in their right mind would pay [never or rarely the recommended retail price]. Apparently they only have to do this for a certain number of days [28 days springs to mind] to get this as the recognised price, then drop it to let you think you're quids in - and we fall for it time and time again ... because we're gullible.

Anyway, back to my £5 voucher - not wanting the crappy bargain priced breadmaker had Argos' desired effect of making me look at more expensive ones until sanity tapped me on the noggin and reminded me that 'we don't need a bloody breadmaker!!'

At this point did I tear up the voucher and find something else to do - like work? No I did not, I started flicking through the catalogue to find something I really needed. A sunbed at £49.99, no thanks, I've only just this minute finished unpacking the one I bought for half price - 'when they're gone they're gone' from Woodthorpe Garden Centre - um well - it was a bargain ... Oh bugger, I fell for it again didn't I?

Oooooh yes ... a table tennis table, when we were on holiday [from which I've still not recovered enough to blog about] we spent a lot of time playing table tennis because:
  1. It rained a lot.
  2. It made a change from eating.
  3. We were probably the youngest and fittest there so no-one else was playing.
But we really enjoyed playing and decided we should carry on at home [where??] to get a bit fitter. The GOM said we may get a game at a youth club somewhere, I think he meant over 50's but I don't like to disillusion him.

So now this voucher has progressed from a literally free tub of jewellery cleaner to a £249 table tennis table, via a £70 breadmaker, it's going to have to stretch one heck of a way at this rate.

Finally common sense prevailed - but not before I looked at cameras, iPods and other essential gadgety things until I finally arrived at the bathroom section, where I remembered that although we'd revamped the bathroom, we still needed a loo roll holder.

So there you have it, I will go into Argos and waft my voucher at them and come out with another vital piece of equipment for under £10 - Oh I say, I've just looked on t'interweb and they've got one that's less than half price. What a bargain!! ...

Update: I've just got back from Argos. After all that effort and brain strain, I changed my mind at the last minute and went with my original idea of jewellery cleaner [well I like my loo roll sitting on the windowsill]. This was a good idea - my first ideas usually are - as I didn't have to part with any cash. And I got change in the form of another voucher worth £1.01 with no time limit on it. Now where did I put the Argos catalogue? I need to find something really, really cheap ...

Saturday 22 May 2010

Speed?!

Now I know that the speed limit in a built up area with the required street lighting is 30mph. But where does it say in the rule book that you must drive at this speed or fail your driving test? ... When the street in question has parked cars on one side and hoarding 2ft into the road on the other, making the actual width to get through no more than approximately 7ft.

This was the absurd claim made to my neighbour when she asked the toss pot - the one who had previously had speeding visitors that I'd shouted at the other day - to slow down. He also thinks that even though there's still plenty of room for turning, we shouldn't park in the turnaround at the top, presumably because he can't quite keep up to the 30mph required of him by law.

That's OK, we're obliging, we'll move our cars if we're upsetting him by parking in the turnaround, but there aren't many parking spaces to be had ... Especially as someone [him] is leaving 'notices' on cars telling drivers to 'park in front of their own house', because someone from up this way - who is without a parking space at the moment - was parked an inch into 'his' territory ...  I am led to believe that, ahem, when this person moved into the housing association house, he was told that there was street parking that went with the house - yeah right! I can't remember the last time we were able to park in front of our house [well I can, it was immediately before demolition] but we aren't complaining, it's something we're prepared to put up with.

But as I say, we're obliging, and if we're at all being a nuisance by parking our cars in the turnaround [for which we have permission and it's nothing to do with the council], to people who want to drive faster, then we'll have to arrange our parking exactly as it was before the turnaround was made - oh dear, that'll completely block it off for everybody, shame.

Oh, and even though the 5mph sign was only put up at the turnaround bit, the workmen assumed [never assume, there are always idiots] that as the road was so narrow, we'd all got enough common sense not to drive at speed on the rest of the street. Evidently they weren't expecting there to be new 'bolshy, I'll do what I like' twats for residents whizzing up and down.

Anyway, I wouldn't like to be in his shoes if he hurts one of the street's children [or cats] by his arrogant stupidity, and if he's still driving dangerously over the next few days then we'll probably have to get the police involved. Hmm yes, police - paperwork, maybe not. Oh well, we'll just have to hope that his tyres spontaneously deflate ...

Thursday 20 May 2010

A Bit Of Traffic Management

We got our latest newsletter the other day from RG Group, this time telling us that traffic management on the corner of Station Road/Cromford Road was going to be put in place from 24th May for BT to do a bit of rearranging underground.


Apparently it'll last 4-5 weeks and they're using cones, with no mention of traffic lights so I don't know how much disruption this will cause. The last time I looked there were already cones on that corner - as the ground floors of the buildings were being 'gently' demolished - so we might not even notice ...

Tuesday 18 May 2010

Turnaraound Again


The men working on the Asda site are extremely helpful, when they asked the grumpy old man yesterday how things were with our turnaround, he told them about the speeding. Within half an hour they came and put a 5mph sign up. I'd rather have a strip of spikes in the road that I could operate with a lever in my front room, but that's just me.

I've just shouted ineffectually through the window at yet another complete moron [and stranger] - visiting one of the 'housing association' houses half way down the street - to slow down. I was actually in the back bedroom [where my computer lives] and he was driving so fast I could hear him coming up to turn around. Where do these twats come from?

Please have a care when driving up and down Bridge Street, don't forget the children are still used to relative safety up here with it having always been a dead end. Oh, and do get out of your car to shift the elderly black cat when he's sunbathing in the middle of the road, rather than expecting him to move ...

Sunday 16 May 2010

Turnaround


We were promised a turnaround at the top of Bridge Street as it is admittedly difficult to turn cars around - but not impossible [depending on size of car].

Well they've made us one and right now I wish they hadn't, we were all perfectly organized regards who was parking where at the top by how often the cars were used, who left earliest in the morning and the size of the car. This worked for us.

Of course there were those who didn't want to join in this scheme and spit their dummy out if someone parked by so much as an inch into 'their parking space' and so ended up parking in the middle of the road - Yes I know, you get them everywhere.


Now personally I don't care if folk come from three streets away to turn around at the top of the street, after all it's still a novelty yet. What I do object to is the speed in which they do it, they hurtle up, whizz round, then speed back down. As the children of the street have already adopted this extension as their play area [probably a bad idea] there is every likelihood that there will be near misses or worse.

A road sweeper had been mentioned to clean the turnaround when it was first done, it's not happened yet. As this is an old bit of land where the 'G R Turners' building stood, we're talking pretty filthy. Judging by the colour of the kids when they've finished playing up there this road-sweeper is becoming somewhat vital ...

Wednesday 12 May 2010

What Hope When Police Lie To You?

A while ago when the grumpy old man approached a police person about the prolific underage drinking being done on Queen Street recreation ground, he was told there was nothing the police could do because they were ALL old enough to drink. What utter garbage!!!

There's a group of ten children and I mean CHILDREN!! two of them girls - I can just tell, even though most of them are wearing those ridiculous hoods. They're all drinking FOSTERS and smoking cigarettes which some greedy grasping shopkeeper at some point must have sold them. Oh there goes another empty can for some other poor bugger to pick up. There's no wonder smaller children daren't play there.

Unfortunately this wasn't the only occasion the police have lied to us. I presume that it's easier telling us porkies than having to do the paperwork.

There's just no hope is there? ...

Mountain And Valley Views

Well, we've been back home for a week now and really I can't find anything to moan about, I'm thoroughly enjoying all the activity - less so the cough, cough, dust but obviously that can't be helped.


Heanor Haulage put in a daily appearance last week collecting flatbeds and I think they may have been going to move an old boiler [not me], but as it was a wide load [still not me] they probably wouldn't have been able to get it through their old front yard as Wessex Archaeology have been pottering about where a bit of old railway line was pulled up. This fenced off bit may have been in the way of 'big stuff' manoeuvring.
At the moment there's no chance of HH visiting the back of us as the road to it is being dug up as I type.


I had a brief senior moment yesterday [it happens] when I looked through our bedroom window and thought there were a lot more cars in their temporary car park next to the railway line than usual. It gradually dawned on me that they'd knocked some of the old wall down along Pottery Lane and I could just see more.


A day in the life of - me [when I'm in] ... I get up early [I didn't say I stopped up] to close the bedroom window before the workmen arrive, then lie in bed watching the trains go by. Then over the next half hour the cars, vans and whatever extra equipment that is needed arrives. Work starts at 8.00ish and they're at it all day until 6.00ish. in-between times - and I'm not saying when - I get up and on with my work with brief interludes for nosying, photography, noshing and houseworky type things, hmm I think I may have put the emphasis on the wrong word there, OK I'm nosy and take photo's, all the other bits fit around that.


And across from us ... There are pick things [you'll have to excuse my terminology] breaking up the surface concrete. Scoops that drop the concrete from great heights to smash it into smaller pieces - we feel the Earth move at this point - these chunks are fed into a machine that chews it up and spits it out as hardcore - mountains of it.

Then there are diggers fetching the soil out, going down as far as, [4 metres] ooh at least an old mine as it's very black soil [yeah, yeah, I know where we are]. This is taken away by tippers - who when reversing sound like very angry crows - and rearranged into piles around the yard, notably one big pile in front of us [at the moment]. Every so often a magnet is attached to one of the diggers and metal is shifted. I suppose I may as well upload some photo's, it's easier than explaining really.


Oh! This morning ... I've mentioned that I'd not put my nets back up as we're relatively private at the moment - yes OK, they're not up because I'm nosy, lets get the truth out in the open - and to keep yanking them aside to take photo's wouldn't do them any good. Now where was I? Oh yes, this morning. I was just having a slurp of coffee that the grumpy old man had made - he brings me one up every morning because [you're going to love this], I'm crap at making coffee. On the odd occasion I've got up first to make it, I either forget what I'm doing and make tea or lie there moaning about the disgusting taste of my coffee until he gets up and makes me another.

You know, I'm getting just like Ronnie Corbett in one of those ridiculous stories where he keeps going off at a tangent - and I hate that bit!


As I was saying ... This morning, I was watching the trains and drinking my delicious mug of coffee - courtesy of the GOM, when this head suddenly appeared over the hoarding straight across from me. I just yanked the duvet and dragged it over my head, sending the poor unsuspecting cat flying ... and I nearly spilt my coffee, such was the shock. I mean, you just don't expect it.


While I was still in hiding and texting all my so called friends about my predicament [some unhelpful replies], the GOM stood in front of the window waving and grinning at him. A 'vision of loveliness' is not how I'd describe either of us first thing in the morning as we both sport Ken Dodd hairstyles and the un-ironed look [and I don't just mean our clothes] before we've been hosed down and reassembled. What a sight for the poor unsuspecting chap, but at least I was safely undercover so he only had one fright to contend with. I do hope he hasn't been mentally scarred for life ...

Friday 7 May 2010

Avoid Langley Mill

 

We had another 'Residents Newsletter' on 6th May about work being carried out at Langley Mill. Now I'm not meant to be thick, but this was evidently written and distributed by men for men to read, who with their [as I've mentioned before] infinitely superior brains would fully understand what was meant.

Whether they're only preparing for or actually carrying out the demolition of the corner of Cromford Road at this time, I'm undecided on [I'm just remembering how l-o-n-g it took to do the hoarding on Bridge Street]. Either way - avoid Langley Mill between 6.00am-10.00am Saturday 8th May. Yes I did say 6.00am ...


 All became crystal clear at 6.34am when I was woken by the distant crunching of buildings being demolished. I can see they're spraying water to keep the dust down but I bet they're thankful of the rain. Yawn - I'm glad I live at the top of Bridge Street, it must have been a heck of a shock for those living close to the corner of Cromford Rd, feeling the earth move so early in the morning.

That's not hoarding! that's a very temporary bit of metal fencing.

Oooooh I can see Lidl from here ...

Wednesday 5 May 2010

Bright Lights, Chuffing Trains, Busy Men And Clean Windows!

Hmm, where to begin ...

Well contrary to my predictions; the cat is just fine with her new and much busier surroundings, therefore this 'delicate - don't make me go out and get my paws wet' act she puts on is just another of her whims.

First night back ... Went to bed at pretty much my normal time [not the same day I got up], read my book for a while, switched my lamp off 'oh bugger, the grumpy old man has left his lamp on ... ' WRONG! Oh heck, I'm venturing into Victor Meldrew territory here; the episode where the lamp-post is knocked through their bedroom window. Oh boy, was it bright, I'm used to the cosy orange glow of one of our street's only three lights filtering through my curtains, but this was something else. Up I bounded out of bed - look, this is my diary, if I want to exaggerate the speed I do things, then I will - opened the curtain a crack ... the brightest, whitest security light I've ever seen was stuck up on the workmen's temporary buildings.

I have to admit at this point that it didn't keep me awake, as soon as my head hit the pillow again I was fast asleep. In fact it was the best night's sleep I'd had here in years.

7.30am ... Heanor Haulage lorry honking to be let in ... and how did I know it was a HH lorry? because by this time our curtains were open and I was watching trains FROM MY BED!! I didn't realise how many passed through Langley Mill early in the morning [my early]. Now I know I've said somewhere in my blog that we don't hear the trains because our brains filter them out, but the volume has been turned up a few notches with our buffer buildings having gone. My neighbour has assured me that I'll be adjusted in a matter of days just as she was. Ah, but I sleep with the window open, only shutting it now when the workmen arrive, hmm, but then I always did sleep with the window open so the volume increase will be the same [don't worry, this is me cogitating - if you listen hard you'll be able to hear the cogs as I change gear].

8.30am ... Up and raring to go! There was a surprising lack of dust in the living room but a generous coating everywhere else so I tackled that first.

8.50am ... Although I've dusted I can't get rid of the smell of damp dust, I wondered if the roof was still intact and rain had got in - I sent the GOM up the loft to investigate. The roof was ok but my previously cleanish loft space was covered in gritty dust which means the [now] twelve boxes of Christmas decorations will need fettling before they're allowed through the hatch into my freshly painted and carpeted bathroom. If the smell persists then the chimney may have to be checked for soot.

9.15am ... I think I'll clean the windows seeing as they've been done outside [courtesy of Asda] and I've got a 'view', meanwhile the GOM is doing important man-stuff ... writing his bets out.

'Oi, where's your window cleaning equipment?'
Off he trots, rummages around for a few seconds then presents me with his chamois leather and gets back to his 'osses ... 'Hmm, you're on your own here,' methinks.

9.20am ... I took the nets down and got on with the job in hand, deciding not to put them back up while we're relatively private being a temporary dead end pedestrian-wise. I was dimly aware that the step-ladder had been shoved up close and personal to my rear quarters while I was balancing precariously on a windowsill.

9.35am ... One window cleaned. Time for breakfast.

10.10am ... 'I'll just go and put me bets on and I'll fix the toilet when I get back.' ... We've got a button to press that flushes the toilet, but the pin holding the chain had snapped. Did you know there was a chain involved? No, me neither, but you live and learn. 'Don't do any more washing because I'll turn the water off to fix it.' Oh I say, he's getting a bit above his station. I decided to extend my break while he's gone ... he'll never know.

10.35am ... Himself is back, I rush - yeah, yeah - to the dining room window and start splashing water about and rubbing vigorously. Hmm, he's accurately weighed up the situation, re lack of cleaned windows. He's taking a deep breath to make some comment. I get in first ... just to throw him off balance - ladies, this nearly always works.

'It's time you cleaned the outside more often, I have it on good authority that you were always getting your ladders out and perching on top of them in your blue Aristoc overalls to clean the windows.'

... 'Yeah ok, I'm turning the water off now.'

10.38am ... 'JULIE ... I'VE DROPPED THE CHAIN.' - Oh ar*e! Upstairs I went, he'd never get it back, I had to hook it with the teeth of a comb in the first place as it's a tidgy corner cistern. Got it out, glared at him when he told me that he could have made a hook to reach it.

10.45am ... Down he comes, all fluffed up and beaming because he's fixed the loo and turns the water back on. 'I think I'll put me dart board up', he announced [had it for his birthday].

10.55am ... All is quiet, he must be concentrating hard, I change my soapy, vinegary water and move on to another window.

10.58am ... 'JULIE! ... Is this level?' ... Oh bugger, here we go again 'No, it's not.' ... 'Well hold this while I fetch me spirit level.' Now me, being a woman with a scientifically proven smaller brain would have had the spirit level with me, but hey ho, fixing things is man-stuff. I stand there holding the dartboard with one hand and chamois leather with the other, wondering how long this obviously important task was going to take.

11.03am ... Patience wearing thin, this effin dartboard will be through the [clean] window and onto HH's demolished bit any second now. Back he comes, plonks the level on top of the board [it's in a cabinet] and tells me to ... 'stand over there and see if I agree with his level'. He'll get whacked with a wet leather on the back of his head in a minute!

11.04am ... Yes, me and his spirit level agree. 'Hold it that side then, I'll hold this side' [he talks a marvellous job] ... 'Now where's me screwdriver?' all the while rummaging through his pockets with one hand ... 'Oh, I've left it over there.' I'm calm and serene, I mean, I've got nothing better to do, lets stand here and hold the bloody dartboard up, which in my opinion should be an inch higher anyway ...'You can go now' he tells me, 'I can manage it myself'

11.05am ... 'JULIE! ... I've dropped me screw.' I'm in a calm place, this isn't going to bother me, I arrive at his side, bend down and pick up the offending screw, return to our bedroom window which has been wet many, many times now - but not to the point of being cleaned ...Thud. 'JULIE! ... I've dropped me screwdriver'...

Can anyone tell me why it is that a man's job requires assistance on tap and is far more important than anything a woman can possibly be doing?

His next suggestion? ... Strip darts - doesn't 'bare' thinking about, does it? ... So far I've lost both shoes and a sock, he's just lost his shoes. We'll be ready for bed by midnight at this rate ...

Tuesday 4 May 2010

WOW!


I’ve finally arrived home after my ahem, enforced holiday - I use that term very loosely as a trip to Southwell and work was involved. All I can say of my new view is WOW! I know I’ve seen the photo’s of the demolition by email from my neighbours and also on the Facebook group ‘Asda Langley Mill’, but it’s just not the same as seeing it in the flesh. All that space and daylight on the front and the back, I don’t think I can cope!

Just one slight drawback with the demolition of the derelict buildings is that the ‘squatters’ or ‘non-paying residents’ have moved out and into our back yards. Yes, I’m talking about the rodent population. My neighbour text me yesterday to say that my cat's services were required as her cat can't muster up enough energy in his old age to chase anything more active than a tin of food, and he no longer went in for the ‘fresh, squeaking, walking’ variety.


I’ve already been told that if the spiders arrive then I’ve got the job of evicting them as I’m the only one who likes things with eight legs. If the rats turn up [not for the first time] then I’m afraid that’s a job for the council, it may even come to that with the mice if my cat thinks chasing them is a bit beneath her - she has moods.

Anyway I’m not sure how the aforementioned cat is going to cope yet, I’m expecting to have to provide her with her litter tray by tonight as she’s a little uncertain about her surroundings, most of her old stamping ground has changed beyond recognition, she used to get into the buildings under the bridge steps and onto wherever she wanted to be, now she'll have to make do with her back door entrance - when she feels brave enough ...