A break from normal routine

This week has not gone according to the regular plan, so far at least.

What with the pound flat lining, the financial markets feverish, the economy moribund, the government in disarray and the opposition apparently having imploded, there didn't seem to be much point in heading into Chesterfield on Wednesday to discuss the state of the housing market with our estate agency.  I had no pressing need to go to the library. We had no particular errands to run. So we abandoned our weekly trip into town and instead stayed at home drinking tea and watching the rain - until it was an appropriate time to drink wine and watch the rain.

We have, however, set all the legal stuff in motion for our house to go to auction on August 2nd. I posted all the documents and forms and stuff to the auctioneer's preferred solicitor so that the house can be sold unconditionally - which is to say that if anybody does make a successful bid on the house the deal is binding on them and on us and contracts would be exchanged 28 days later.  A bit late for us, but no doubt it could all be sorted out.  Whether anyone will make a bid is another question.  I hear reports (unconfirmed by me) that people who did have house purchases underway are in some cases pulling out because of the current political, economic and employment uncertainty. The housing market is unhappy.

Yesterday I would ordinarily have headed into Sheffield for a stint at the Pot Luck Pantry. But when I first started with the local food bank I undertook to help with a national fund raising weekend. It was a bit unfortunate that it was this weekend for the Pot Luck Pantry is very short of people this week and there weren't any managers or chefs available for yesterday. But a promise is a promise so I went instead into Clay Cross and spent the morning in Tesco collecting people's donations of money and food. I quite enjoyed it.  It was not something I had ever done before and it was interesting being in the supermarket watching the normal operations that I don't notice when I am in there shopping. I came home at lunchtime and The Builder went in for a few hours in the afternoon. We'll both go to the food bank as usual this afternoon, then I'll head back to the supermarket to extort some more donations tomorrow morning

Collecting donations in Tesco

Back to normal on Sunday. I am expecting to be at the Pot Luck Pantry as usual.  I am even expecting The Builder to be with me. He seems to be very much better.  The cough is a bit less hacking. The rash is very much better. He's almost back to fighting fitness.

Now if only we could convince the Weather Dogs that it is now the beginning of July, that we have had Quite Enough Rain, thank you very much, and that I should not be considering putting the heating on!!!

Marlo doesn't care about the rain