Summer

Is here. It's official. I did all the washing at the weekend and it was all dry by the end of Sunday evening. Marvellous.

Domestic bliss is a big heap of clean, air-dried towels. Not that I have any option to the traditional green drying approach, not having a tumble dryer.

I like to tell people it's because I disapprove of their impact on the environment but really it's because I can't fit one in the kitchen. I'd far rather be perceived as an idealistic eco-warrior than a whiny middle-aged woman who wants a bigger kitchen*.

On second thoughts, my eco-warrior credentials are rather disastrously impaired by the large 4-by-4 I drive. So bollocks to that, then.

Hey, I use my acoustic guitar sometimes. That must count for something in the grand scheme of energy-saving things.

Other news: I bought a copy of the film "Bullshot" a couple of weeks ago. It came out in the early 1980s, possibly 1983, and went nowhere at the cinema. It's an affectionate spoof of the Bulldog Drummond genre, with an excellent British cast featuring several comedians (Mel Smith and Billy Connolly for example). There were a few films like that around then. Billy Connolly was in "Water" at about the same time I think.

Anyway, we had a copy of it on video, and that video had long since worn out. We looked for it on DVD for years, but no joy. Until....ta-daaaa! Amazon had it in stock. Yay! I ordered a copy, it arrived, we were delighted.

Until we watched it, that is.

In a concession to modernity, they'd changed the format to Widescreen (no idea what the ratio/aspect thingy is, sorry). Rather than stretch the fim sideways to make it fit, they'd lopped the top and bottom off it. This meant that for many scenes, the actors' faces were missing off the top of the screen. Fuckwits.

It was still an enjoyable film, but it was irritating.

I'm no expert but I would think twice about chopping the ends off something to make it fit before checking that it wouldn't ruin whatever it was I was chopping. Gah.

Also. Domestic goddess status creeps ever closer. I borrowed a steam cleaner from my Youngest Sis and had a go at doing the tiles in the shower. Not terribly effective, but that might have been my technique. And it got rust stains off the limestone floor tiles in the bathroom.

However, I would suggest to anyone who is remotely interested that a day when it hits 30 degrees outside is probably not the wisest day to start steam cleaning the house.

Back at work today, catching up after a week out of the office. Nice to see everyone, and even nicer that the weather has stayed fine. Makes the world of difference.

*Note to any readers who've been to my house: Yes, yes, I know I have a feckin' huge kitchen. Sssssh. Don't spoil it for the others.