Heavy Rain.

It's been an eventful day. I was up bright and early this morning when the oil man came to top up the tank in the pouring rain. I was already working in the porch because as I had already imagined, painting the doors was only the start. Sorting out the curtains had been the next logical step and things didn't stop there. After yesterday's good clear out it was inevitable that painting the bare walls came next. I even have the ideal paint to start with. Some cheap, water based quick drying gloss that was useless as gloss but should make an initial primer coat over the concrete. I cleared one side of the porch and painted it before breakfast. Then it was time to head into town. I normally wouldn't bother when it is so wet but the car was filled with stuff for the dump and I needed shopping and to change my library books. Hoping not to go into town for a while I had a long list of things to get at Lidl's and Tesco's. At the library things were a little hectic as all the self-service machines had stopped working. The librarians had to record the books on their computer and hand stamp each book. (My first proper after school job was working in the local library.)

In Tesco's I found these dark red trainers in sale which are exactly what I have been looking for to wear during the ceilidh (at Vytas and Sally's wedding) so that I can cavort merrily. I also got some men's slippers which I will chop up and use the soles to give my beloved winter sheepskin slippers a new lease of life

While I was in town I picked up this top in a charity shop. It looks rather brown in this picture but is actually dark red and has glittery bits all over. The flowers were in the Accesorise sale and I might make them into something for my hair. Sally's accent colour is dark red so I thought I thought I would soften the slightly Gothic look of my dress for the formal part of the wedding.

Having done all my shopping I drove to Tesco's petrol station to fill up the car and that's where the real fun began. As I went to remove the key from the ignition to unlock the petrol cap the key got stuck half in and half out of the ignition. Some helpful people including someone who said he was a mechanic all tried to free the key with no success. I went to phone the RAC and guess what? my phone that I keep for car emergencies had run out of charge. Which also meant I couldn't contact Peter as I don't know his number. The people in the garage were very helpful, gave me a phone to use, asked if I needed to put any of my shopping in their fridge and pushed the car away from the pump. The RAC had predicted a 45mins wait but no sooner than I  got out a library book and found a bar of white chocolate then there he was, 10 mins if that. Apparently the key problem is not unusual with my car. He hot wired my engine and then followed me back over the bridge to my usual garage about a mile and a half away. The boss was off on a job but they said if they needed to put in a new barrel for the key it wouldn't be done until Monday. Then as I had no way of contacting Peter one of the garage men drove me and my many bags of shopping home. I was unpacking the shopping when Peter came home. I was explaining what had happened when Alec from the garage phoned saying the car was sorted and ready to collect. Back we went into town. Alec said the key had some sharp edges which could have caught on the mechanism which was already a bit worn. When I explained that I had been using that key since I bought the car he agreed to keep the car and check it a few more times with both keys and also price up a new barrel. I'd rather change it than worry about the key jamming again.

Back home I mixed up some filler and filled in a couple of holes and cracks in the porch wall so that I can paint it again tomorrow. What a busy day I've had. And yes I shall write down vital phone numbers in a book and have a regular routine to charge up my phone.