Friday 31st October 2025

All Hallows Eve.

Again.

No gym for us today, though Jools did go to Yoga. I slept through till twenty past six, when she took the bins up to the road before driving into town.

I get up and get dressed. There is still no coffee for me, so I make a tea and check on the world.

Its still a mess.

This is day 10 of the kitchen replacement, and its all starting to come together.

Friday saw the electricians come round to sort the oven out and do all the required checks and issue a certificate.

A worry has been the wire from the fuze box wouldn't take the current, but some testing showed it would. Though wouldn't have taken an induction hob and the oven.

So we are having a gas hob and electric oven. The hob can't be fitted and connected until the stone worktops are fitted, same with the sink, so that's Wednesday.

Until then, we're in limbo.

Jools comes back and so we have breakfast, before I have to go and collect the cats.

The sunshine of early morning gave way to clouds, clouds that produced rain hard enough to have to use the wipers.

At the cattery, their dogs and the dogs in lodging kennels were barking loudly, excited that the car that arrived would take them home.

Instead I had come for Mulder, Cleo and Poppy.

I met the owner, and we began to task of getting them in their baskets. Only trouble was Poppy would sliced my chest as I went to hold her.

I put the baskets in the car, then back to the A2 to Barham, then back on the coastbound side to home, where once released they meow.

And meow.

And meow.

They had been fed, and we have to be careful around Scully. So, the cats come in, go out, come in, go out. Meow at the hedge, the birds, us.

I went to collect Jools from the library where she had been at her art group/gossip gang, and with the rain lashing down suggested we go into town for lunch, as I was very hungry.

I had a plan to go to the Elephant and Hind on the Market Square, as the menu sounded good.

We parked behind Castle Street and rushed through the squall past Chaplins to the bar, and inside.

We both ordered burgers, which came quick, and both were excellent.

The bar itself was quiet, but the barmaid was good and was attentive.

I had a triple smash patty burger, which was large. So large I could not finish it all, though we did have a side of onion rings too.

Outside, the rain had eased, so we walked back to the car and drove back up Jubilee Way and to home.

They all got fed at lunchtime, and they then went to their favourite sleeping places, and silence and peace settled on the house.

The electricians left, and Craig put in the small fridge and did last minute jobs before leaving us at three.

The house was cold. So we closed all the windows and door, put the heating on and I went back to the world of Lyra Silvertongue.

We were still too full to need supper. So I had a beer and some snacks, and that was that, until the football began and Hollywood FC, Wrexham, played Coventry and won, 3-2. Thus inflicting Coventry's first defeat of the season.

Who saw that coming?