That bloody van

... is poorly sick again. It's got new paws, it's got a new fuel tube, it's got new engine thingies, it's becoming a new van, being rebuilt gradually, bit by bit. The Builder went to get in it at the crack of dawn (well, not perhaps the actual crack of dawn cos that's about 04:30, dawn itself is about 05:00; but at 06:15 it's early enough. We have to get up around 05:30. Horrible time!) tried to start it; it gave a half-hearted whirr and stopped. New battery needed, it seems. Sigh. He's gone off to Rampton in the car. I came to work on the bus and train. Must be a day for vans breaking down though. Just as the bus was due, a van turned from Birkin Road onto Queen Vic Road and stopped dead half way round. Was still stopped dead, coughing gently to itself, as the bus (having finally got round it) pulled away from the bus stop.

It's quite pleasant coming in by public transport. Happily read my book in the morning sunshine while other people took the responsibility of conveying me into Sheffield. Very pleasant. Bloody expensive, though. £7.30 return, plus £1.50 for the bacon sandwich that attacked me at the station. Setting aside the bacon sandwich, that's £36.50 for the week. Only costs £20 for fuel for the car. I might try a combination of bus/train and car next week. It was certainly fairly relaxing on the bus and train. Won't work for days when I need to be at Collegiate for a 09:00 desk shift, though!

Weather's been lovely this week. Pleasantly warm (in the low 30s) and sunny. Not all that humid. Was humid yesterday though. Made me coff. And coff. And coffandcoffandcoffandcoffandcoffandcoffandcoff. Just as I was about to leave for work. Left me absolutely buggered and feeling slightly sick. Didn't come to work yesterday. Sat at home and coffed on and off all day and did almost nothing. And drank blueberry cordial. Then, at about 17:30, huge great big clouds blew in from the South. The Builder blew in too, bearing tales of torrential rain around Mansfield. Didn't come to us, though. Not a single solitary drop :-( Clouds blew away, and took the humidity with them. Not coffing today!

The fish are getting braver. You see them now, in a little shoal, just drifting about the pond. They still hide when they notice us, though.

Had occasion to call the police on Wednesday evening. There are two empty houses to one side of us (4 and 6) and you occasionally see a small group of 14 year old or so boys playing in the garden of Number 6. Don't know where they come from; they're not there all that often. On Wednesday their ball bounced into the garden of number 4, which you can't get into because the gate is locked. (No 4 is in the hands of bailiffs or someone). At least, you couldn't get into it until they took down one of the fence panels. This appears to have got them somewhat over-excited, and they turned their attention to trying to knock down the back fence with their ball. Then they hopped onto the shed roof and started kicking that. Don't think they're habitually violent; I think they had just got a bit over-excited. Anyway, they knew we were watching them. Eventually I rang the local police just to let them know it was happening (We don't want small gangs of kids knocking down fences and sheds; so untidy). "Ooooh," said the woman who answered the phone. "We can't have that. Can't have that at all". A few minutes later two police officers had appeared and were telling the lads off. They've been quite subdued since then. Was *very* impressed with the speed of the response, mind!

Not working this weekend. Two whole days off. And they're forecasting rain!