In the end we managed the school dance project by dressing the dogs in some of Lucy’s left behind clothes and making them dance, like puppets, to The Birdie Song.
They were not at all pleased about this, and Oliver had to cut the bit at the end where one of them struggled out of my grip and made a frantic bid for freedom, still wearing his shimmering pashmina. The problem was not the dog’s escape, but the curse that escaped my lips as I grabbed for him, which we decided was probably unsuitable to be included.
Oliver speeded it all up, which made it funnier, and we submitted it with a whole-household sense of relief.
There is a picture of it attached. It has the Play button in the middle but it is only a still photograph, so regrettably nothing will happen when you click it, sorry about that.
Lucy rang this morning, having had her very first night as a real policeman yesterday.
She has started her working career on the night shift, which would normally have been an exciting adventure, but which under the present circumstances was actually rather dull. Somebody had had some upsetting texts from an ex boyfriend, and somebody else had been sent home for being out without a licence.
She did, however, make her very first arrest, of somebody who had breached their bail conditions. She said that in the event it was a bit disappointing really. He did not fight or run off, just sighed and sadly gave himself up. It was not at all like when Sarah Lancashire arrests people in Happy Valley, which just goes to show you should not believe everything you see on the television.
I expect things will improve.
Dull as city policing might be, it is still more exciting than life at Ibbetson Towers. I have had a lovely day tootling about in the greenhouse. We discovered this morning that my parents have subsidised us yet again, which made me feel both horribly guilty and awash with relief.
I had not realised just how terribly worried about money I had been until it arrived, and it was as if somebody had twiddled the Brightness setting on the world. Suddenly the sun was shining, the blackbirds were singing, and it did not matter in the least that we had almost run out of cheese.
We did consider going to Asda, to slosh our newfound wealth about with joyful recklessness, but the mighty Internet told us that Friday is the busiest day to go to a supermarket, so we thought that we had better wait. We will go after the weekend, when there might be flour.
We have not run out of flour yet, but it is a handy thing to be able to replace. We all like pies.
In the end we did not go anywhere, except up the fell for a dog-emptying trip. Mark has spent the day busily carrying on with his New Shed Project. He has been building shelves and finding spaces to store all of his junk so that it is tidy and accessible. I am of the opinion that he will need at least another couple of gypsies to achieve that, but I am merely making admiring noises and stepping over the resulting mess in the yard. It is almost dark, but he is still out there now, he will have the tidiest shed in the world.
I have been planting things. I have planted the seed sweetcorn, which will eventually be transplanted in to the field at the farm. Also I have planted lettuces in the sides of the hanging baskets, because you can’t eat fuchsia and nicotiana. The conservatory is very full indeed now.
We have been considering installing a couple of chickens in the back yard.
I will keep you updated.
