Wednesday 1st May

A beautiful morning today, and having waved goodbye to Mrs P and the teenagers, I tidy up and set out on the paper round. It seems almost sacrilegious to hurry on such a day and so I stroll, enjoying the day while I can. I pop into the bank and stand queuing behind a chap who hasn’t written a cheque in years and wants the world to know it, but in fact he only causes the irritation levels to rise in the people waiting, as he launches into his recent life story oblivious to the growing queue. The butchers have plenty of staff serving and are a much pleasanter experience.

After lunch I decide to tackle the garden and in particular cutting back a tree. Our local council has decided to start charging for collecting garden waste from the 1^st June, so I’m trying to get as much as possible shifted before then. After that date, like most people, I’ll be taking trips to the local tip. The reality is likely to be bigger queues at the tip on the weekends, and people getting fed up and just fly tipping their waste. But I’m sure the council has thought of this and has a cost saving way to deal with it! Or possibly not.

After a couple of hours of sawing and clipping I get most of what I can in the garden waste bin, leaving enough room for me to cut the grass before it’s next emptied. I’m considering either erecting a compost corner, or burning future garden cuttings and clippings. As and when I make a decision I’ll let you know, though it may take some time to weigh up the pros and cons.

Yours reflecting

Jay