Monday 27th January

A return to normality, sort of, as I was going to Art armed with the news that Sheila and Klaus have accepted an offer on their house which is fantastic for them as they have been trying to sell it for some time and the buyer came when conditions just couldn't have been worse - as I said to Sheila, if you can love it when the central heating isn't working and it is lashing down with rain then you will adore it under normal circumstances.  The news leaves John and I feeling just a little bit sad because we have known them for so long and Klaus keeps a neighbourly eye on Dad and so when they move, wherever that will be, things will not be quite the same.  And, in order for Klaus to concentrate on the impending move rather than what he is going to feed me on a Monday, Sheila and I have agreed that I go earlier and finish before lunch.  That suits them better and actually suits me fine too so it is a win-win.

I went to the cemetery first - everything was fine save for the debris which has been strewn all over the place due to the exceptionally high winds we have had over the last week or so.  I shall have to think about planting up the trough so that there are some flowers but will need to bear in mind that Klaus will not be nearby as he used to give it a spot of water every day in the Summer.

On my return home Mark was here with his builder who has started on their roof.  I showed him a door sign that I contemplated buying when I was in the UK which I thought we could use as a signalling system in the future when they are living opposite!!!

John and I went into Polis in the afternoon.  We had some welcome sunshine although rain is forecast again tomorrow which is not good for Mark's builder and the work on their roof.

We had earmarked tomorrow for gardening so these plans will need to change if the weather forecast is correct - I am thinking that a spring clean is in order looking at the state of my floors.  John is brilliant, and everything was neat and tidy on my return but there are things I notice which he probably doesn't and he spent most of the 10 days I was away dealing with a particularly nasty blocked drain so I need to cut him some slack.  Apparently we had roots growing into the drain amongst other things and so now we need to be particularly vigilant and even though our drains are 'benched' must resort to the paper in the bin method which we had hoped to avoid.