Drifted downstairs far later than I would have liked and in the absence of any real orange juice on account of not shopping for a week poured some squash into a glass. Turned on the cold tap and watched it dribble, cough, and then stop. Hot water was working fine. It was the same in the bathroom, and when I flushed the loo it didn’t refill. Fortunately mum’s boiler doesn’t seem to heat the water too much so I was able to shower but had to brush my teeth from the hot tap, which was nasty. Maisie, the cleaner, arrived just as I was leaving and explained about a burst water main up the road, and then I found a note on the doormat from the water people confirming it.

Work, for a change, was fairly relaxed in comparison to most days. The issue closes on Monday so there was minimal proofing to be done. I browsed the net through lunch, hunting out strange Flash animations and mailing them around the office. Managed to get two guests booked for next week’s show, too, and went after Yahoo, but they seem distinctly non-keen. They’re getting back to me with an answer on Monday, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a ‘no’.

The day was punctuated at regular intervals by publisher Joyce who was going through the book and following my instructions. She called every time she got to a fiddly bit, which was quite often. I think we got most things sorted out, though, and the last call of the day seemed to indicate that she’d got everything done, so all I need now are the proofs to sign off. Hopefully I should be able to get them done before going on holiday at the end of the month.

Paul called mid-afternoon to see if I fancied the gym after work. I said yes, and suggested we ate at mum’s. Every time I open a new cupboard I find yet more food. The fridge is absolutely stacked with vegetables I hadn’t found until yesterday evening so I really ought to eat them before they go off. I went back there briefly to pack my gym bag (now strangely smelling of TCP), which was a good job, because I found the cat wailing at the back door. She had obviously been out all day, probably because Maisie hadn’t been able to get her back in, poor thing.

We gymmed for an hour or so, although it wasn’t as quiet as it was last Friday, and then I left to go back home, water my plants and clear off my answerphone, which had a rather strange message from a man with a Southend dialling code wanting to buy a wheelchair and wondering whether I sold different types. I deleted him because he only gave his surname (Harper) and I hate it when people do that.

Came back to mum’s and took the cat down the garden to help me with my clandestine hosepipe watering. The foxes were barking in the meadow and she was tense in my hands. I surprised a cute little toad at one point, catching it with the spray when I did one of the teracotta pots. It hopped under the cat kennel for a moment and hid there, then came out again when it thought the coast was clear.

I’m always amazed by the wildlife when I come back here. I think I must have been really blase about it when I lived here. I opened the curtains this morning and the garden was full of activity. I got to 50 before I gave up counting the birds on the lawn and pergola and feeders. I could quite happily get used to it all.

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