Wink’s “I’ll be with you by lunchtime” turned out to be soon after 9.30 this morning, as she left at the same time as Weeza and the children.  We’ve chatted today, mostly, and drunk the pink champagne that she brought (but not until this evening).

The cockerel went with the others into the shed but then skipped out again when the brown bantam squawked as I picked her up.  She’s limping, though I can’t find anything wrong,  and doesn’t walk unless she really wants to get somewhere, so I’m carrying her to roost and off again.  But she decided to be panicked this evening, so Crow the cock came to see what the matter was.  Of course, he wouldn’t go back in again and is roosting on the shed.  I’m debating whether to go out and try to catch him.  He’s high enough up that he should be safe, but I’ve had so many unpredictable disasters in the last year and a bit that I’m overanxious about them all.

I had a phone call from a long-term china client today – that is, his wife was the china collector and they both came along to our sales for years.  She became ill a few years ago, just before Russell had to give up auctioneering, and A phoned to say she has died.  I didn’t know she had motor neurone disease and it’s been a gruelling five years.  He wants me to look at her china, which I’m happy to do of course – my colleague and I will go down next week to their home in Essex.  She was delightful and the two of them always had a happy glow about them, I’m so sorry about her illness, a particularly horrid one.  She was a bit older than me, I should think, just a few years.  Probably about my age when she became ill.   One really can’t hang about waiting for the good times, can one?

We’ve got some new light fittings to be installed and have had them for several months.  I texted the electrician at the end of last week (the arrangement had been that he’d contact us), enquiring if he was too busy, in which case I’d find someone else – he texted back saying that he was planning to come the very next week! Hm, heard that one before … still, he’s coming in the morning and, since I owe him for the previous work he did (he didn’t send a bill, saying he’d charge when all the work is done), it’s his loss so far, not ours.  We fished out all the fittings to check that we remember what goes where, and I’ve set an alarm for the morning so that we don’t oversleep.  Not used to this first thing in the morning malarkey any longer.

It isn’t very dark out, but it’s after 10 pm, so I’ll have one try at rooster-catching and if it doesn’t work, he’ll have to take care of himself for the night.