Plumbing, meetings and books

Miraculously the second water leak was mended last night (hurrah!) so that’s one problem in the flat solved, which leaves only the original problem of the immersion tank. And of course the mice. Sigh.

So, this morning I am back at week for the last full week before Christmas, while Lord H nobly stays behind in the flat and fields the drying company. I do hope they can dry out the neighbour’s electrics so at least one day soon he’ll be able to turn on his bathroom/hallway/kitchen light circuit again. UPDATE: the company have installed a second dehumidifier and an industrial fan in the neighbour's flat to dry out the walls and will be back in January to see how it's worked. In the meantime he's allowed to turn the lights on so it won't be a completely dismal Christmas for him, thank goodness ... We also need to hear from the original plumber about whether we can ever have hot water, but let’s not get too over-confident, eh. Lord only knows what will go wrong next …

At work, I have ploughed through a tranche of emails and caught up with a flurry of photocopying. It’s actually nice to do something normal for a change, rather than “fire-fighting” at home all the time. Though – to be honest – this afternoon’s Steering Group meeting was a tad too long for my tastes. It is the last one before Christmas after all – I was hoping for an earlier finish and fewer minutes to write up. And nobody opened the mince pies I’d brought along either! Still, at least that means I can spirit them back home and there’ll be more for Lord H and myself. And the mice of course. Who now appear to have learnt how to get into cupboards and ferret about in boxes. Perhaps I’ll give up trying to store things securely and just eat the little rodents instead. It may be the best option.

Tonight, it’s the University Book Group and we’re discussing The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – not a book I particularly enjoyed, but thank goodness it was short. Still, I’m looking forward to the discussion – it’s always very thought-provoking.

Oh and here’s this morning’s meditation piece:

Meditation 24

Your breath
is a shadow on the wind.

Take off
the pearls and gold

you wear
like a shield to save you.

Walk slowly
into the sun,

treading a path
you do not know.

I've also just finished Jodi Picoult's Second Glance - a modern take on the ghost story. I enjoyed it, though I don't think it's one of her utter best and towards the end it was way too overwrought for my tastes. That said, there's some astonishingly poetic and rich writing in it which is totally gripping - so I hope she continues in that vein. It gives it a magical feel appropriate to the genre.

Today’s nice things:

1. One leak mended
2. The book group
3. Poetry.
4. Books.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website - back at the coalface ...