I started doing this diary in June. If you haven't been following have a look at the Cast of Characters which gives a quick low down on the essential day to day characters who are mentioned here...it will make more sense if you do.

     

I'm just wondering which bit of this house is going to fall apart next. Yesterday it was the plumbing, today it was the fire. First of all it was out this morning but I couldn't wait until I'd woken up sufficiently to get dressed and clear it out properly so I just lit some kindling on top of the dead coals and kept throwing in wood until it had all caught again. Then I wished I hadn't because when I did get dressed and went to empty the ashes I realised that the grate had fallen apart. Downhome Stoves were not answering the telephone so I just had to get in the car and go down there. I though it would be a simple matter to replace a grate, it certainly is with Raeburns. But not with the Hunter midi8, oh no. First of all it's not the whole grate you replace, just whichever bars have broken and there are two types of bars, the high and the low. The guy in the shop shook his head and told me it was a very complicated job. I asked if he thought I could do it by myself, he didn't look optimistic, but perhaps he is underestimating my determination, then again perhaps I am overestimating my capabilities. We shall see tomorrow.

I didn't have an awful lot to do once I got back home except for fixing up an entrance to the horse training ring and that should have been an easy job. Well it was, but first I slipped coming down the stairs (because I was fumbling in my pockets for a marker pen and not paying attention) and slammed my knee into the wall at the bottom of the stairs, I think I hit a few other parts too but the knee hurt the most. Then I went to change a drill bit and mashed my finger into the cogs with the chuck key. Once I got out in the field I realised I had cut a block of wood with one huge knot right through it and when I went to bang the rail the nail wouldn't go through the knot and the wood split. So back to the barn to put pilot holes in everything and it finally got done. I usd the spare time after to try and acquaint myself with Flash 3.0. I can see the potential there but it's helluva tricky to use, not what you would call intuitive at all. And personally I prefer intuitive but I'm just going to have to sit here with the book and go through it step by step till I get it.

After a while Martin the plumber arrived to fix my leak, he probably hated it but I watched everything he was doing. I feel like I'm severely lacking in knowledge when it comes to plumbing and I want to learn. There's a lot of stuff involving both hands though, like using two wrenches at the same time but I might be able to do that with this new hand. As soon as he had fixed it and had a look at the plumbing up the other end where we want to have the washing machine I was able to have a bath which I'd started craving as soon as the water went off yesterday. Shortly after that it was time to get off to Llanybydder to the WIT monthly night out. The first event was Clare's film, first public showing and it looked great. It seems like a long time ago now that we shot that, it was summer and I was wearing thermal underwear because it was so exposed on that hillside mine, I dread to think what it would be like there now. I've got a video clip of me standing on top of a slag heap and just about being blown away by the wind. That was followed by Belladonna, a double act who sat on cushions on the floor and sang the sort of songs which made me wonder when they were going to do Puff the Magic Dragon. That's not meant to be an insult, that's simply the sort of songs they were playing, very lovely really, I could just see them doing their thing around the camp fire. When the disco started I left, not being in the mood for discoing or for having my ears blown out sitting under a speaker all night. The police were pulling up as I drove away, hopefully they were headed for one of the pubs, that's just what Friday night in Llanybydder seems to be all about.

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