Going Equipped

Seriously worried about Dad last night, as he loads a dodgy looking bag with claw hammer, crow-bar, screwdrivers, rubber mallet and "cape hammer" (ask the fruit boys, the stevedores) and heads for the back entrance to Diamond's house (in her absence). He is meeting a bloke there we do not know. Are his intentions honest?

Yes, it turns out - he and fellow allotment holder Mike, are fixin' to dismantle the garden shed in Diamond's back garden. The shed was once Diamond's step-father (Denis)'s pride and joy (and Dad will tell you how precious blokes get about their sheds). But Denis (love him). is now pretty much confined to hospital and won't be needing the shed any more, so Mike gets it, and the flat, paved area which Diamond always thought was a bit too good to put a shed on, is freed up.

Diamond will enjoy this as a sun-trap terrace area, and has visions of painting the walls white, screwing on a blue trellis, and attaching the poor old rose , which up to now has been buried behind the shed, to the trellis. Diamond has always been a fan, since teenage years, of the Greek island of Poros, and she will re-create a small chunk of Poros in her back garden.

Mum sets out, once the terrace is cleared, a chair and a table fior Diamond to sit at. On the table she sets a rusty cat-food tin with some old carrot-flower tops "planted" in it. Diamond will enjoy this - Denis was a great one for keeping all manner of junk in the shed, and empty cat food tins were one of his favourites, and the sheer dodgy-ness of it will strike a chord with the Poros "barbecues made of old oil drums" etc.

Rags, needless to say, has a whale of a time while the boys are into the shed and taking it apart.

Today, we are back into walking. I am on the lead for vet-reasons (lead-only exercise for 10 days). We pass through the cemetery, and we are amazed by the huge pile of floral tributes to "Jimmy". We assume from the size of the display, and the fact that there are models of a caravan, a Land Rover and a horse made out of flowers, along with all the huge (expensive) tributes saying "Good Night Jimmy", that these are a traveller family. They know how to do a good funeral. here is even an old "single" vinyl record of Lonnie Donegan (Battle of New Orleans) tied up there.

RIP Jimmy, who ever you were. You were obviously very popular and had many children and Grandchildren. Good luck mate - and as the Irish say, "Slain Abhaile" (Good Journey)

We are in for a quiet weekend traffic-wise. The road outside is closed further up, and has now been dug up a cross its whole width while contractors install traffic islands, round-abouts and so on. For 3 weeks, no-one will be able to come whooshing down our street and whizzing past our house.

Have a great weekend

Deefer