Today's Miscellany.

Today being anything but fine and pleasant, I spent hours and hours with a paint brush and a can of white, silk finish paint. I was putting the second coat on a built-in cupboard in the corner of my office that used to be pretty gruesome. The doors are oak, so that was OK, but the cabinet and architrave were stained that horrible dark treacle colour that people used to like for some reason. I didn’t, so now it’s a white built-in cupboard with oak doors, and looks like it belongs at last.

So then I went for an evening walk in the wind and rain, complete with elf coat. I was trying to get some inspiration for a blog post, since it seems to have run out of steam a bit lately with me being busy an’ all. Didn’t get any, apart from noticing again that there’s to be a Family Halloween event at the pub – mainly just a bonfire as far as I can tell. I wonder whether I’d be allowed in, since I’m not part of anybody’s family in these ’ere parts. That’s on the 27^th October, and the following weekend there’s the Autumn Fair.

Imagine that: two social events in the space of seven days. Will I stand the strain if I go? Will I stand the disgrace if I don’t? And if I do go, will it necessitate averting my eyes from certain members of the village community to whom I am now persona non grata? It’s a tough life in rural England.

The only other event worthy of a mention is that farmer Andrew was going to cut my boundary hedge today, but his machine broke down. It’s me, you know. It is.

Oh, and maybe I should congratulate the Swiss on cocking a snook at nanny state who wanted to introduce a complete ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces. They had a referendum on the issue; the British nanny just imposed it.