Monday 4th February 2013

It seemed such a good idea at the time, volunteer to help take the beer festival down. I mean, should be easy, shouldn't it? And all in all, it was easy enough. Thing is, with CAMRA, the typical member is of probable later-middle age, portly and serious. Anyhow, whether that is true or not it cannot be denied that most of the others who turned up were of little use other than to point out to those who could do the work what should be done.

I turned up at nine, as agreed, to find those who had arrived early treating themselves to a cup of tea. I passed and got on with the first job of taking the empty firkins down to the basement and then loading them on the dray when it arrived. And then there was the batons, planks and all the other stuff.

Now, those of you who know will appreciate I have been flying a desk for a few years now, and my hands have grown soft. In other words I am not used to manual labour, and my back certainly was complaining as I lugged another plank to the fire door. But, in due course we had moved all the heavy stuff. When we went back up the the main hall, we foud all the trestle tables had been cleared away, along with the chairs; the floors had been swept and mopped and so there was little else to do, other than to bid my farewell to those who remained to load cars with unsold glasses and programs.

So back home for a cuppa and a stretch on the sofa to give my back a break. Later on in the afternoon, I decided that what my back needed was more exercise, so I got on the cross trainer and give my back something to really complain about. It wasn't really that bad, but using my back will be the only thing that will make it stronger and in the end, me be in less pain.

Mummy's little soldier. Or Airman.

Anyway, I do know that sitting around waiting for the back pain to go does not work, and only exercise will make the muscles (what I have) stronger and stop the disc i have from bulging.



Today was day 1 of operation bathroom. Operation bathroom is the plan for us to have all the MDF, worn out carpet and tired fittings ripped out and replaced. And so at nine a man with a van and a lot of tools turned up and began to remove the fittings. Jools and I had spent last night taking out the old shower and removing lots of tiles from the walls. It was hard work, but worth it for when our lovely new tiles will make it.



So, as the day went on, the 'innovations' of the house's previous owner became clearer, and his unusual methods. However, by five, the old shower pedestal is out, the bath is out and old pipes have been capped and hidden away. It looks like a bomb has hit it, but by the end of tomorrow, the new toilet and basin will be in, and the walls will have been plastered.

Oh and one last thing, the body of Richard II has been identified. I'll say that again: the last Plantagenet King of England, the last English monarch killed in battle and someone to whom history has not been kind. Most of what we know is from Shakespeare, written in Tudor times, the very house under who was to become Henry VII who was Richard's foe in the Battle of Bosworth. It is an astounding thing that his remains have been discovered, and an infamous figure from history now seems so much more real and closer.