Two rousing cheers

Looks like we may be coming to the end of one period of mendacity, corruption and moral bankruptcy.  Though I won’t be sorry to see the back of the outgoing PM, a part of me wishes he’d stayed until the next election, thus wrecking the tories’ chances of re-election.  Just wondering whether he plans to pull a Trumpian rabbit out of the hat.  He seems to want to hang on until a new leader is elected, and that could take months.  Interestingly, our local man has been appointed Sec of State for the nebulous concept of ‘levelling up’.  He has been in the wilderness for a while having voted against Johnson’s cockamamie  Brexit plans.  Can’t help feeling it’s a mistake to appoint an MP for one of the most prosperous parts of the country to the rôle, but then there’s not much point expecting sound judgement from the outgoing PM.  

So as ever, we take modest satisfaction from the garden.  The second generation of tomatoes is yielding ripe fruit, and the first lot look like taking over the conservatory.  There are twenty or so more plants outside on the terrace, and they are starting to set fruit.  We may be sick and tired of tomatoes ere long, but meanwhile are enjoying caprese salads and bruschette, and I shall add a few tomatoes to tonight’s pizza.

I need hardly add that the weeds are enjoying the warmth, and I have a horrible feeling that blackfly are ruining the runner beans.  We’ll see.  I  cropped another bag of Charlotte potatoes yesterday: my word, they’re delicious!  There are plenty more to come.

Martyn is still struggling with pain from shingles, which has forced us to dip out of our dear friend John’s 85th birthday party tomorrow night.  He’s planning a mop-up event in September for those who couldn’t make it in July, so we’ve that to look forward to, so long as it doesn’t conflict with our plans for a little holiday.

Week 7 of the bathroom project drags on.  We at last have functioning taps on the basin and bidet, and are expecting the chippy here tomorrow to fit a new threshold to the doorway.  The new tiles are pretty thick, so there’s a toe-stubbing step into the room.  After that, all that remains is to get the grout residue off the floor tiles: my efforts so far have achieved little, and I’ve asked the prime contractor to find a solution.  As with all major household projects, there has had to be a lot of re-work, which offends what remains of my long-dormant quality manager instinct.  But most of the tiling is good, the shower is very good, the lighting is rather smart and the new wall cabinet with its LED lighting is rather snazzy.  So we’re almost there.