Variation on a Theme of Moaning.

To add to the woes which are making a habit of landing in my lap from a variety of sources, today I received an email from my electricity supplier. It sought to inform me of the extent to which my electricity tariffs will be going up from 1^st April. 40% (forty percent!) They say it’s all to do with wholesale prices, and who am I to argue? And since my old house is entirely heated by piecemeal electrical appliances (but still remains mostly uncomfortably cold throughout the winter months) there’s no way of escaping it.

So, a little story: when I first moved to this house nearly sixteen years ago I was massively insolvent, burdened with a large amount of debt which wasn’t mine but for which I was legally responsible. Fortunately, I know how to economise. I come from poor, working class stock and had a naturally frugal mother, so it’s in the blood. I put this skill to good use and eventually moved from debit into credit, and since then I’ve managed to build a little capital so as to have a modest sum to leave to my ex and my daughter when the big day arrives. That seems only right and proper because my mother did the same for me.

I worked out how long this little capital will last, assuming all other factors remain constant, given the projected increase in electricity charges. It came to ten years. Better hope I don’t last that long.

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Today’s nice news is that I was able to pet two donkeys, a horse and a Shetland pony in Meadow Lane at the bottom end of the Shire. It hasn’t escaped my notice that making physical contact with friendly animals is most beneficial when you’re feeling glum, and so it was today. And doesn’t ‘Meadow Lane’ have a delightfully pastoral ring to it? I assume it’s so called because it runs along the eastern edge of a range of meadows leading down to the river. I haven’t seen the river for a long time. I assume it’s still there.