Friday 31st May

We have found a carpet, I repeat, we have found a carpet. At least we may have done. For those of you following the ongoing saga that is our quest to get a lounge carpet to match the newly decorated (at least it was in March), and newly furnished in April room, like me you may have thought the day would never come. This morning Mrs P got up and announced that we were choosing a carpet today, a decision needed to be made. So we took back yesterdays selection of samples and went back to our original colour choice. We got five new samples and one actually looks ok. Fingers crossed if we still like it tomorrow we could be in business.

In the afternoon the youngest goes out to play with his mates, I know we were excited too, an afternoon off the xbox and out in the fresh air. Mrs P, the eldest and I go for a walk by the coast. The eldest drives us there and back without too much concern, albeit she doesn’t appreciate her mother’s driving suggestions, though I think that is very much a standard mother-teenage daughter relationship issue. We have a lovely walk with great views and a coffee break at half way. It does pay to make the most of the sunshine, even if you have to make way for the odd cyclist.

After tea jay-le-taxi takes the youngest to cricket practice, then returns to find the eldest has taken to her bed, tired out by the walk with her mother and me. I thought as the youngster she should have more energy than us. I’m then informed she’ll be up in a couple of hours before going off to a party, so maybe she does have more energy than us, as we’ll be settling down with a nice cup of tea for the evening. First though jay-le-taxi has to collect the youngest.

Yours hoping to still like the preferred carpet sample tomorrow.

Jay

Thursday30th May

A leisurely lie in this morning as Mrs P has a couple of days off this week. So it’s bacon sandwiches and tea all round. Then Mrs P joins me in my weekly house cleaning session, though to be fair she takes the lead and I follow. This means the cleaning is done in double quick time. At this point the youngest is revising for next week’s exams and the eldest has just crawled out of bed to watch TV in her pyjamas, whilst eating the breakfast that has been made for her.

Mrs P and I then embark on the continuing quest that is a search for a new lounge carpet. Bearing in mind I finished decorating the room in March we really aren’t doing very well. Once again we return home with four different samples from the carpet shops, and once again when we put them down at home they look different to how they did in the shop, and how I’d imagined they might at home. We’ve gone from one colour to another to neutral and now I think we might go back to where we started. Another option is of course to redecorate the room, so we can get a carpet to match!

After lunch the youngest and I get the train to watch Lancashire playing county cricket. It’s not quite a blistering Summer’s day, in fact the start was delayed because of rain, but they’re well underway after lunch. We pass a pleasant afternoon watching the game and discussing the prospects for the season with our neighbours. As the cost to watch live sport goes in this country, county cricket is pretty competitive (though still not cheap), and a good crowd is well entertained.

Once home I get to go in the loft to find a cable for the youngests old xbox, to replace the one that broke this morning in his current xbox, the upshot of which is it won’t work and a major part of his social life could be in freefall. I find the old box but its empty, making me wonder f I’ve thrown the old xbox out, after all it was broken. However I persist under much encouragement from the youngest and eventually find the broken console in an old TV box, with the required cable. It just goes to show the benefit of not rushing to throw things out, even when they’re broken.

Yours saving the day.

Jay

Wednesday 29th May

Mrs P is up at the usual time for breakfast, but as the teenagers don’t have to be up I decline to join her and decide to have an extra hour in bed. When I do get up I breakfast alone, and then get ready to go out and deliver the papers. At this point the youngest gets up, asking where his breakfast is. I inform him he will need to sort it out himself as I’m going out. He manages to get himself a bowl of cereal and some flapjack bites. This is a great improvement on his sister who when rising mid-morning helps herself to a number of mini muffins.

The streets are quiet this morning. I really don’t know where the kids go in the school holidays, but you don’t see many out and about. Are they all on Xboxes, Play Stations and social media sites? On my return I make myself a decent cup of coffee and settle down to some TV with the eldest. A bit of father-daughter bonding over Series 3 of Friends.

As rain looms in the afternoon I get some grass seed sown in the back garden, for what I hope is a finish to my landscaping, ahem! Then myself and the youngest walk round in the rain to visit the ailing one. He’s recovering slowly, I can’t help feeling a bit of sun would perk him up a bit. I’m sure there must be statistics somewhere that show patients recover quicker in sunnier climes.

In the evening Mrs P, myself and the youngest go out for fish and chips, and jolly good they are, as we stand looking out over the wetlands in the estuary. There is something quintessentially English about the whole scene. I just needed a decent pint in hand to make it perfect, but I was out voted on that one.

Yours patriotically inclined.

Jay

Tuesday 28th May

Ah the joy of half term holidays. I remember halcyon days of Spring’s past when the sun shone, or at least that’s how I think it was in days gone by. Possibly I’m looking through rose tinted spectacles at that one. Suffice to say it’s a pretty miserable looking day, and whilst not raining, it is forecast to. Having made breakfast for Mrs P and myself and put bacon sandwiches under the grill for the teenagers, I wave Mrs P off to work and the youngest appears for his. I have to pop to the butchers first thing and before leaving I make the eldest a cup of tea and instruct the youngest to get her out of bed to have her breakfast, as her nan is picking her up in half an hour. I return to find her up but not moving very fast and when her nan arrives she suddenly realises she’s not dressed! I’m sure teenagers must have their own time zones they operate in. You hand them everything on a plate, and they still can’t move themselves.

The youngest and I are off to officiate at a cricket match today, hence my interest in the weather prospects. We arrive to find not everything ready, but sometimes you just need to go with the flow. The youngest and I have a habit of not agreeing, or to put it another way, the youngest has a habit of disagreeing with me at the moment. This may prove to be problematic. We get the match started because despite the poor forecast the intended rain has not yet arrived. The game is progressing nicely and the youngsters are play well and enjoying the match, but then about half an hour in the rain starts. It’s light at first and not a problem, but an hour and a quarter in it’s becoming heavier and I look across to the youngest to gauge his view and he shakes his head to say “no it’s fine, let’s continue.” In cricket both umpires have to agree to stop, and so we stay out. Now him being a teenage boy he doesn’t mind the rain, I however am now getting wet. The spectators have by this time put away their umbrellas and chairs, and gone into the club house to watch from the dry. Eventually an hour and a half after the start we eventually agree with each other that it is raining too much and we take the teams off. To be fair to us the coaches were impressed and pleased that we stayed out as long as we did. We then spend the next couple of hours watching the rain and waiting for tea before we call the match off, as the available playing time expires. Given we only had the one minor debate, it’s been a very successful day out for me and the youngest.

After making tea and washing up after it, I take the eldest out driving in the rain. We try a new route and by and large it goes well. As ever we have a couple of moments which are obviously my fault, despite the fact it’s not me driving, but the laughter outweighs them by far. I only hope the examiner has a sense of humour.

Yours drying out.

Jay

Friday 24th May

So dawns the morning of the eldest’s last AS exam. It certainly feels like we’ve all been through the mill with her, but she’s worked hard and will hopefully get the marks she deserves. That means she has both next week, which is half term, and the following week, which is a study leave week, off. I’m not sure if she’s happier about finishing her exams or getting two weeks off. The youngest by contrast will have to revise through half term as his exam week is the following week. He’s a bit more phlegmatic about these things though, so it shouldn’t be quite as tense in the Perry household as it has been.

Having fed them breakfast, seen them off and tidied up, I’ve a day of jobs ahead of me. First stop is a bit of landscaping in the garden, though I’m possibly over selling it. Basically my borders and lawn run into each other, and not in a straight line. So I’ve got some old skirting board and intend to insert this between the two to give me clean edges and nicely defined borders. Apart from hitting the odd root and the odd rock it goes well, and whilst I don’t expect to be invited to exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show next year, it’s a definite improvement.

The morning having pretty much disappeared I pop out for petrol, beer (I know exciting times), and to collect the prescriptions I requested the other day. My opinion of Mrs P’s GP’s new location in the local hospital has not changed from Tuesday. On second inspection it still feels clinical, but not in a good way. There is no warmth to the place.

After lunching on my own, as the eldest went to a friends for hers I cut the grass and tidy up some of the debris created by the recent high winds. Catkins might look nice but they get everywhere and are a right pain. Then the eldest calls and jay-le-taxi goes to pick her up from the station, only to find that she in her wisdom has decided to get off at a different stop to the one we agreed on this morning! Once home I decide to burn some old papers plus some garden debris in a bin I have for this purpose. Now that we have to pay if we want to have our garden waste bin emptied, I may well be burning more than anticipated. Today’s lesson learnt was that moss produces a lot of smoke for a long time, but fortunately the high winds dispersed it pretty well.

Then I’m on to the usual run of ironing, making tea, clearing up after tea, and then jay-le-taxi drops the youngest at cricket practice. The eldest is off to a party this evening at a friend’s house and during tea when asked what time she wanted collecting, informs us she is sleeping over. Mrs P and I are somewhat surprised as this is news to us, although the eldest is sure she had told us before. Do every generation think they are the first ones to do these things? Teenagers don’t seem to realise that whilst we might seem old, parents were once teenagers too, and everything they’re doing now, we did in our time. Jay-le-taxi is due to drop her at her party, on the way to collect the youngest, but surprise surprise she’s not ready. How long does it take to get dressed? So I go for the youngest and she has to wait. Eventually I’m back to pick her up and get her to her party albeit a bit late, and head home for a reviving cup of tea. Do I think her punctuality will improve? Not a chance. 

Yours been there and done that.

Jay

Diary of a House Husband will be back on Tuesday 28^th May
 

Thursday 23rd May

Having waved Mrs P off to work, the eldest to her exams and the youngest to school, I put my coat on to walk along the road to my invigilation. I’ve another double shift today. This morning’s exam requires only that students bring a black pen, a calculator and a ruler, and for the c60 pupils who are sitting the exam we need to provide 20 calculators and 25 rulers. Incredible that more than one in 3 students can’t turn up with the right equipment, and let’s be honest we’re not talking a complicated kit list here. The rain is coming down hard and sounds far worse than it is on the metal roof of the sports hall, until of course the rain starts leaking through! A strategically placed bucket helps to catch most of it. Fortunately the invigilators seem far more distracted than the pupils.

I lunch alone as the eldest is staying in school for a second exam this afternoon. It has been lovely lunching with her for most of the week and I miss her today. There are c120 in for this afternoon’s exam and being English it only requires a working black pen which most pupils do manage to turn up with. The rain has gone but now the wind sounds like it is trying to rip the roof off, though once again the pupils seem remarkably unmoved. Whoever designed the sports hall with this metal roof may well have had an eye on the cost, and not on the quality.

While cooking tea I do the ironing which seems like I’m almost multi-tasking. Maybe I’m turning from a househusband to a housewife; then again maybe I’ve just had too much time to think this week as I’ve been standing invigilating. The youngest is not impressed with the pasta dish I present for tea but allows for the fact that the warm bread provided should help him eat just a small amount. The next time I look his way he’s cleared his plate. Maybe I’m getting the hang of at least some parts of being a househusband.

Yours, on the turn.

Jay

Wednesday 22nd May

Up early this morning to finish sorting out the papers for this mornings round. The delivery time to me on a Tuesday evening can be anything from 8pm-12pm in my experience. If it is after 11pm they tend to get left outside for the night. I only got half way through sorting them out last night, so finished the rest this morning before getting breakfast ready for the family; well most of us. The eldest was having an extra hour in bed because her exam today was in the afternoon. It was breezy but warm on the round this morning, perfectly pleasant conditions, although for some reason I couldn’t quite fathom I felt a bit lethargic.

Back home I made myself a coffee and the eldest a cuppa then got lunch ready for us. I look forward to the day she makes lunch for me, though I suspect she is not dissimilar to most teenage girls. I wish her luck as I see her off to her exam and then pop into town to go to the kids bank. I’ve a cheque to pay in and need to convert one of the accounts to one paying a higher interest rate. I’d have thought it might have been done automatically as the bank previously changed their accounts without asking us, but no if it involves you getting more interest (though still a low rate) you need to ask.

It’s blowing a gale when I get home but at least the washing is dry, giving me no excuse for not doing the ironing before getting tea ready for all. The eldest’s exam went well, which was great news, only three to go now and she can relax. On this evenings perambulation Mrs P mentions that in a months’ time the days will be getting shorter, and she’s right. Summer needs to hurry up and make its mark before it misses its chance. Staycations are not looking that attractive this year unless the temperature rises by at least 15°c.

Yours dreaming of sun kissed beaches.

Jay