I do not have to go to work tonight either.
This is not because of idleness. Actually it is because of idleness but it is idleness with an excuse, so it is all right. It is because I do not have a taxi. My taxi has been left at MGD in readiness for them to give it an MOT whenever a slot opens up over the next few days.
These MOTs come around very quickly. The camper van needs one as well but this is absolutely not going to happen any time soon because the whole of the front suspension has collapsed and needs to be replaced. It did this when we were going up to Gordonstoun last time. Oliver said: What’s that awful noise? and we assured him that the camper van just makes awful noises and that probably it would be fine, but it wasn’t. The awful noise was the front of the van falling off.
Mark telephoned his friend the truck-dismantling gypsy this morning and he thinks that he has got some suspension in his yard. All he needs to do is just saw the truck off the top of it, whenever we are ready, and so it will be fine. Well, fine in a seven-hundred-quid sort of way.
I was eavesdropping. They are kindred spirits. There was some discussion about whether the steering rack needed to be sawn off as well, and they both entered into discussion of left hand drive steering racks with an interest which baffled me.
The poor camper van is going to have to go over to the farm to be dismantled and rebuilt again. I am sure it is used to it by now. Fortunately Mark’s sister has sold up and buzzed off to live in Greece, or Lancaster, or somewhere, and so probably nobody will ring the National Park to complain about it.
I do not quite know how we are going to manage it. Mark is already very busy hauling firewood and mending taxis, and he is going to be rural broadbanding again from tomorrow. I am sure it will be all right but it is going to be a bit difficult for the next few weeks.
I could cut up some firewood which would help, I would need to be careful though, because saw operation is an exciting business and really I need all of my fingers for sewing and typing. Not that this is a very good excuse. Mark visited his scrap-yard uncle this afternoon to trade some copper out of his shed for some lead, and he has come home with a handwritten receipt. Considering that his uncle has got no hands at all this is quite an astonishing achievement, and one which made me feel very humbled.
I have occupied much of the day shopping, and so our cupboards are full again. We can now eat cheese whenever we like instead of eyeing it anxiously and wondering if we ought to be a bit more careful for a day or two. I went to look at new bed-linen as well because ours has worn into holes again and I am going to have to patch it tomorrow, but they didn’t have any and we are going to spend all of our money on a sawn off suspension.
In other news, the day has been fine and dry, and I dried my washing in the yard. It was frozen hard when I brought it in, but really quite dry and just needed to air off above the stove for a little while. We have not had any of the promised awful weather, well, no more awful than usual, although the fells are white and the ground is hard. I am hoping that this lasts. It is not nice to try and saw firewood in the rain.
I am going to go. We are going to watch an intellectual film this evening, and I am going to go and pour some wine.
See you tomorrow.
