I had a blood donor appointment booked for the first week in July, but I had an email cancelling it on Thursday, with apologies. So I looked on the app and found an alternative venue, fairly local if not as convenient, on the same day. On Thursday, I had a text cancelling my appointment. It didn’t say which one it was, so I was a bit puzzled – but looked on the app and the new one was still there, so I guessed they were just being thorough. Today, I had a letter in the post, cancelling the same appointment. I’m sure there’s a pun in there somewhere, but I haven’t thought of it yet.

The house is chaotic. Squiffany and I have been turning out. The further dining room is the worst, as it has the contents of the strongroom in there, not the items that need to be kept in there but packing materials and items of furniture. Russell put his big kneehole desk in there, thinking he’d use it as an office, but he never did, unsurprisingly. I certainly won’t. I’ll get rid of the desk, one way or another. it’s too big and I’ve nowhere else to put it. There’s also a nice little Edwardian escritoire, which looked good in our last house but there’s nowhere to put it here. So that will go. I’m eyeing up a few other items that I just don’t need or want.

I’ll be away next Saturday, but Squiffany has her eye on some cupboards and will turn them out. Today, we also swapped two chests of drawers, which I’m pleased about. The one in my bedroom is big and solid and rested on the floor (it has no feet, I don’t mean others float) so was difficult to shift when a bird fell down the chimney behind it. It was the chest that Tim used and I hadn’t emptied it, so we did that too, removed all his shirts that I hadn’t previously taken out of his wardrobe and took a dozen or so bin bags of clothes down to the clothes bank at the village recycling centre.

I was too tired from emotion to do much more once Al arrived, but he and S brought a couple of things I wanted into the house from the workshop. I’ve not done much since, but had a long bath this evening and a sandwich for dinner. And there’s just been a great clap of thunder and I’m going to bed. Goodnight.