David Gillon

I managed a whole 24 hours at home before getting to "I may need to throw everything in a bag and head back to my mother's." Which didn't make for a restful night's sleep.

Fortunately it looks like that infection is responding to antibiotics, it's just a pain in the backside that we can tell by her mental state that she has something starting about four days quicker than the medical system can confirm it and start treating it.

But that's yesterday's problem, today's problem where it would be useful to be there is drains/sewers backing up. Not to the point of getting in anywhere they shouldn't, but definitely to the point of knowing there's a problem. Next-door's 80+yo ex-husband (and more to the point ex-clerk of works) has stepped in to help try and pinpoint where the problem is, but half the downstream neighbours are out and the one next door to my sister's house is still furious with him and claiming he broke his drains the last time this was a problem, 30 years ago. Fortunately they decided to call off the fisticuffs and call out the waterboard.

Funniest line reported by my sister from the cantankerous 80yos: "You used to be married to that girl up the street" - J's just short of 80 herself, not sure she gets called 'girl' very much anymore!