I am delighted to announce that Lucy has been in her very first police-officery fight.
They were summoned to an affray where alcohol was involved, followed by some affronted bellowing on behalf of those about-to-be-arrested, followed by things becoming exciting and some rascals having to be wrestled to the ground in order to be formally arrested.
Lucy did quite a lot of the wrestling.
It became so exciting that after a few minutes punches were thrown, and a police officer was properly assaulted, after which every other police officer for miles rushed up to join in and rescue them. In the end there were seventeen of them, because nothing much exciting is happening to enliven policing at the moment, and everybody was pleased to have a proper adventure on their hands.
Certainly it was better than spending one’s shifts explaining to people that they must not walk in the park drinking coffee and breathing heavily.
Obviously the police won, because it was a handful of intoxicated muppets, not an organised riot. Lucy admitted to having enjoyed it very much. She was very pleased to discover that when it comes to the Chips Being Down, all her genteel public school education counted for nothing, and she was just as good at fisticuffs as anybody from a sink council estate with a drug habit.
I was very pleased and proud. It is jolly good to have yet another daughter who can walk the streets fearlessly.
We have had a Day Off today.
This was a huge relief.
I have become very fed up of getting up early and doing endless housework. I can hardly say how wonderful it was to stop.
We got up late.
We did not wake up until almost nine o’clock, and then sat lazily in bed with coffee for ages and ages, doing nothing at all and imagining the new and interestingly creative design projects that we would do to the conservatory when we have earned some more money.
After that we left a pre-packaged chocolate spread sandwich for Oliver’s breakfast, in the event of his stirring in his sleep, and went out for a walk.
We did not go up the hill to the top of the fell. We went down the hill to the lake.
We do not go that way very often, because usually there are hundreds and hundreds of people milling about at the lake, and also because I generally prefer to get the uphill bit of walks over and done with at the beginning.
We squabbled about which was the best path. I was right.
We were almost at the lake when a vaguely familiar chap with a toddler called to us from the playground. This was unexpected, because we do not know anybody with small children. We looked around guiltily in case one of the dogs had sloped off and done something unspeakable at the bottom of the slide, but it turned out to be our friend Kevin who had been left in charge of somebody else’s offspring whilst she and our friend Kate went swimming in the lake.
Kevin had actually volunteered to do this, because he thought that he would prefer not to have a January swim in the lake. He thought that it would be more fun to look after a small child, even though everybody knows that they make the most ghastly noise and leak dreadfully.
I was surprised about this. Everybody knows how invigorating a deep lake full of melted snow can be on a windy day.
It was an enormous pleasure to see him. Unexpected friends are like winning the lottery in our current isolationist social habits.
We found Kate by the side of the lake. She was already dried off, and the blue was slowly fading from her features.
I was very impressed, and longed for a wet suit and some sand shoes so that I could go in and join her, but of course it was far too late by then, and instead we agreed that it it was a splendid afternoon for a swim and went on our way.
It was indeed a splendid afternoon for a swim. An icy breeze scudded along the top of the lake, making little ripples of white foam. The sky was iron-grey, and the water as dark and troubling as a newly-dug grave.
I was not sorry to get home.
Oliver had not eaten his breakfast, and appeared in his dressing gown, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
At least he has made the most of his day off.
I have added another snow picture, which was cheating because most of the snow has gone by today. It is a relief to see green again, wonderfully restful for the eyes after the monochrome of the last few days.
