Thursday 11th April 2024

Thursday dawned overcast and foggy. Away in the distance, the sound of the fog horn at Dover could be heard, s it sounded its warning.

Jools was off work, of course, and had plans for her day. I, meanwhile, had work and would be expecting the carpet fitters.

For the last four weeks our house has been turned upside down, as we decorate and update the furniture and fittings of the back room and spare bedroom.

Furniture and objects from each room are stored in other rooms, mainly the bathroom (which has no bath), piles of books, clothes and documents were stacked, sorted and either dumped, recycled or shredded and dumped.

The back room looks great, and last weekend the spare room was decorated, all we needed was the tatty rug that had been in there replaced by fitted carpet. And on Thursday the fitters came with their bag of tools and underlay and carpet to complete the job.

Before then, we had to take the bed apart, a job that was far worse in anticipation than in practice, leaving just the wardrobe for the guys to work round and move about.

They were done in half an hour, amazing really, and once Jools came back from the pool, we put the bed back together, the chest of drawers was carried back in, and so the final stuff out of the bathroom was cleared, the house looked like a home again.

There is a plan going forward, with the upstairs hallway next to be painted and re-carpeted, and maybe next year for the living room then the kitchen.

So, the cats will get used to peace and quiet for a while and not have to hide when the workmen come knocking and banging.

They were gone very quickly, and peace returned to the house.

I vacuumed the new carpet, as it was covered with fluffy bits, and after Cleo sampled some last time, best got get rid.

And move the wardrobe back to its original position.

I then had a meeting, so could not tell Jools when she returned home that the carpet had been laid, instead she discovered it on the way to the back room.

And by five in the afternoon, everything was in its place, and all looked tidy.

I cooked dinner.

And that was that for the day, really. There was football. I mean, there's always football, but the lesser European competitions hold little allure, so I went to bed at half time, thus missing out on the news that Atalanta crushed Liverpool 3-0.