12 August 2022 (Friday) - Home Again

Pogo deliberately woke me at four o’clock for absolutely no reason that I could fathom. He then pootled off and woke me again twenty minutes later when he finally jumped onto the bed.

I then dozed fitfully until seven o’clock when I got up and made a start on clearing up. Before long everyone was up and joining in. It wasn’t long before the place was sorted and we were all ready to go. Just as we were about to set off homewards the cleaner arrived. She was keen to make a start; she’d arrived half an hour early at half past nine and said she had five holiday cottages to sort out before the next loads of guests arrived at four o’clock this afternoon.

 

When we drove down to the New Forest a week ago we took over five hours. Today we did the return journey in less than half the time. I suppose only stopping once at a much smaller services on the A3 rather than at Cobham and Winchester made a difference.

As “er indoors TM went to the loo I took the dogs for a tiddle, and whilst we all tiddled I found someone’s credit card on the floor. What do you do when you find a credit card?

 

We got back to Sittingbourne where I collected my car, said our final goodbyes to Karl, Tracey, Charlotte and Jess, and I went to collect the puppies. I must admit they had been a worry; they were too small to come on holiday (holiday cottages say the babies have to be a year old) and our original plan for dog care had fallen though. But with a week or so to go a rather wonderful couple got in touch through the Kent Dachshund group and as I arrived to collect them today it was quite clear that the babies had had a wonderful holiday.

I brought them home, and I had a look at the pond. “My Boy TM” had said the water level was a tad low. It was more than a tad low(!) The trouble is that I’ve fitted a filter which is half the volume of the old one, and it can’t cope with the output of the pump. I phoned the pond shop – the second filter box which they assured me would be waiting still hadn’t arrived. That was something of a pain in the glass (as “Stormageddon – Bringer of Destruction TM” would say).

As I drove Pogo to his home I wracked my poor brain…

Daddy’s Little Angel TM” was pleased to see Pogo, but not as much as Pogo was to see Darcie Waa Waa. And then I had a stroke of genius…

 

There is too much water coming from the pump for the filter to handle. So I needed to reduce the pump’s output. I took a little (quite major) diversion to the pond shop and got a tap to slow the water flow.

I managed to get home in one piece; much of the roads from Ashford to Rolvenden were being used as race tracks by sports cars and motorbikes. And once home I installed that tap. It took some installing, and despite putting a screwdriver through the palm of my hand (there wasn’t *that* much blood) It seemed to work.

I then sparked up the lap-top. Even though the hose pipe ban came into force today I couldn’t leave the pond as empty as it was. https://www.southeastwater.co.uk/about/updates/tubs-faqs says “Using a hosepipe where the welfare and/or health and safety of animals including fish is paramount will not be restricted”. So I ran out the hose pipe. It is daft really… there is nothing to stop me filling the pond with endless buckets of water so why should I feel guilty about using a hose pipe?

I then phoned the credit card company and told them I’d found someone’s credit card on the floor. The nice man at the other end of the line said that it was good of me to report it, that he would cancel it right away,and would I please destroy it.

I should have got one or two fraudulent buys in first, shouldn’t I?

 

“er indoors TM boiled up fish and chips and as we scoffed it we watched the Lego Batman Movie – it was a freebie from the SKY VIP thingy. It was rather good…

I feel absolutely worn out and my hand really hurts…

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