18 October 2026 (Sunday) - Rainy Day

I slept well up until the point at which I went to the loo in the small hours. I came back to find Treacle in my space and she simply wouldn’t shift. I tried to make myself comfortable but no matter how I twisted and turned I couldn’t get my iffy hand to stop throbbing. Obviously I was twisting and turning too much as Treacle eventually grunted and went to the bottom of the bed where things were a bit quieter. Morgan immediately tried to move to where Treacle had been, but he’s less than half her size and much easier pushed.
 
I got up just after eight o’clock and had my usual look at the Internet. People had posted pictures of last night’s fireworks at Hastings. I can always remember those evenings as being incredibly crowded with tens of thousands of people shoved into fifty yards of the sea front. My cousin had posted photos she’d taken from the pier. Only a short way away, she’d had a really good view of all that was going on, and less than a dozen other people were using that obvious vantage point.
One of the Facebook groups I follow details the problem customers which various tradesmen encounter. Some customers can be seriously unreasonable, and these are often referred to as “clowns” and “melts”. Since when were these terms serious insults?
 
As I peered into the internet the BBC’s on-line weather forecast predicted at least ninety per cent chance of rain showers all day. The Met Office said greater than ninety-five percent chance of heavy rain all day. Magic Radio’s weather forecast then announced “plenty of sunshine across the country today”. I looked out of the window. The earlier rain had stopped, so I trusted the radio… Never again.
“er indoors ^TM” wanted to go shopping so I took a chance and took the dogs to Orlestone. As we drove so the drizzle started. Shortly after we started walking so the rain got heavier. I only planned a short walk, but we were soaked by the half-way point, and the rain had stopped by the time we got back to the car. But it had started again before we got home.
 
The dogs had a hot shower to warm them up and clean off the muck. I put my wet clothes into wash, unloaded the dishwasher, and was suddenly possessed by the urge to clean the thing. I was amazed at how much gunge I pulled out of the arms that spray the water around. How does gunge get in there?
 
There was a knock on the door. My nephew was visiting. He’d brought his girlfriend, my brother-in-law and his dog. Bringing the dog was something of a gamble, but after an initial episode our smallest two got locked in the back lobby and we had a rather good afternoon catching up. We don’t see anywhere near enough of my nephew – we must do it more often. Ideally when it isn’t pouring hard and we can go on a dog walk or meet in a pub garden.
 
I then spent a little while going through the attendance list for yesterday’s Dog Club. I think we shall take yesterday’s attempt at a register as a trial run. We weren’t the only ones to forget to sign out, some people claimed to pay by cash after I’d taken the pot home, and some claimed to be paying by more than one method. But no matter how I tried to tot up the money we still ended up with five quid more than I thought we should have… That’s not “in credit” though, the Dog Club doesn’t take any money. No matter whether we take ten pence or a hundred quid the Repton people get the lot (that’s the arrangement). The trouble is they don’t seem to have any idea just how much they are getting. Hopefully we’ll figure it out.
 
We got the Infinity Table out and spent the evening playing “Ticket To Ride”. We played eight games… I won three. Could have done better… could have done a whole lot worse…
Today’s been rather busy…