24 August 2020 (Monday) - Late Shift

 

Another good night’s sleep. The dogs must all be tired as there were no “Red Alerts” in the small hours.

Over brekkie I had my usual root around the Internet. It was much as I’d left it last night, with disappointingly little new appearing on Facebook. One or two new people had joined some of the groups I follow, and had re-posted all of the jokes, pictures and memes that all newbies post to these groups (thinking they are oh-so-original), but on the plus side I did have over a hundred “Found It” logs on geocaches that I’d hidden over the last few months.

 

We got the leads on to the dogs and took them over to the back end of the Warren where "er indoors TM" had some geocache maintenance to do. One had been reported missing but was there. Another had been trashed when a new fence had been put in place. She sorted it all out, and we came home where we met not-so-nice-next-door coming along the road. I tackled her about her fence. It was a shame that she stopped our fence-fixing man going anywhere near her fence as it is falling down. She said she was aware of it falling down, but insisted that it was on her land. Apparently the boundary extends an indeterminate way into our garden, but I have her regal permission to paint our side of it (!)

However she actually spoke, and I suppose that is more than I’ve got from her in several years.

 

I set off up the motorway aiming for Sheerness, but autopilot kicked in and it was only as I drove past the junction that I realised that I'd missed it. Ho hum... Fortunately the next junction where I could turn around was only three miles further on.

It wasn't long before I was in Sheerness and at Wheelan's (perhaps the best suppliers of garden ornaments in the country). One of the water features we got from them several years ago had sprung a leak, and needed a new cement bowl. I got a replacement - only sixteen quid. Whilst I was at it I got three little tortoise ornaments and a hedgehog ornament too (if only to wind up the dogs).  I also got a selection of masonry paints with which I shall touch up the garden gnomes. They've all got a little bit tatty since "My Boy TM"  painted them all those years ago.

There were several other things I might have bought but decided against it for now.

 

I eventually heaved the cement bowl into the boot of my car (the stuff from Whelan's isn't light!), and using geocachical expertise I quickly located a geocache which wasn't too far away, and then thought I might do a little more Munzee resuscitation. Our clan needed fifty-four of those for the current clan war. I managed seven, and others got some as well. Between us we reached our target of a hundred and fifty resuscitations iin this month, and we got our rewards; our rewards being rather special bar codes that you can stick to lamp posts. I was rather pleased about it, but I can understand why others might see this as something of a disappointment.

 

And then I went to get some petrol.

Oh dear...

The petrol station were operating a "pay at the window" scheme. Customers weren't allowed to walk into the kiosk with the petrol station staff but had to form a queue outside. I asked the chap at the window if this was a new idea. He said it was because of social distancing. Bearing in mind no one inside the kiosk behind the window was wearing any face coverings or gloves (and they were packed in like sardines) the obvious implication was that the petrol station staff were all OK, but the general public were all diseased.

I asked if I could get a sandwich as well as petrol. The nice man said he would get one for me and pass it out, and asked what sort I wanted. I said I had no idea as I was standing outside and I couldn't see what they had. That foxed him. There was a little conference of the petrol station staff (whilst the queue grew and grew), and I was eventually told that I would like a ham and cheese sandwich. One sort of sandwich was much the same as another as far as I was concerned so I took it. As I got back to my car I saw that they'd opened the door to the petrol station's kiosk and had let the public in. Obviously choosing people's sandwiches was too arduous for them.

 

I got to work. the tea room has been redecorated. I didn't like it. But there was cake (I did like that). I did what I had to do and came home again. A few years ago I would have dreaded going back to work after a holiday. Nowadays it ain't that bad...

 

It was a shame that I was nearly run off the road on the way home, but I’ve squealed that person up

No comments:

Post a Comment