Our boiler is on the blink. The gas people have temporarily done some banging to it to make it work, but we fear it needs a big and major operation to fix it. They will be back with some kind of replacement part (organ donation) to fix it up and help it last a bit longer. Being with hot water is gruesome (hot soft am I?) but it was sort of fun bathing out of a bucket with one third boiling kettle water, two thirds cool cool tap water. Reminded me of being in the village in Sri Lanka and also a bit of my time in Africa. Crucially though, those are hot places so the sting of the cold water isn't so noticeable compared to chilly Swantown. We hope it will be fixed up soon.
With regards to the boiler room, well, my brother has been working in what pretty much seems to be a boiler room (he got made redundant, which some of us are not as devastated about, given the terrible macho atmosphere there) and I have just been listening to a report about "fake boiler rooms" where con artists trick innocent people into spending hundreds and thousands of pounds on non-existent shares. I can't believe how convincing the people sound - it makes me realise that if you have the gift of the gab, you can sell pretty much anything. I only hope my brother wasn't working in a proper boiler room - and that he was actually selling real shares!
In other news it is sunny today, which obviously makes me chirpy. To make the day even better:
1. I have been shopping. This simple act of hunter-gathering (simple so long as you have some money) is wonderfully satisfying, particularly when BARGAINS are to be had. Today bargains included two pairs of TU trousers and also some new potatoes.
2. We have a Weds-date later, to the cinema, whoop! Time Traveller's Wife, no doubt will be terrible as most book-turned-films are, but it'll be fun.
3. England are playing Croatia tonight and we finally have ITV on our telly so we can watch it directly rather than through a dodgy internet connection. Probably the game will be dismal but I am excited for now.
4. Fish and chips with green peas and tartar sauce. Enough said there.
I am pleased for Speech Debelle, who won the Mercury Music Prize last night. I am also a bit gutted that it wasn't Jij who won the prize.. Don't get confused, she wasn't even in the running or anything, but they seem to have had really similar lives and Jij is so talented, I want her to win a prize and make her music too. I will listen to Speech's album later to see what it's like.
Finally, I'm enjoying the holiday having finished A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - very good, if rambley, but true to life and impressive too - and so now have started Making History by Stephen Fry - the main character is annoying me already - and watching lots of good old telly and listening to Radio 4. Aaah holidays.
