Monday Sunny Monday

 

Sometimes I leave a few pelargoniums in the cold greenhouse over winter - covered with fleece and kept fairly dry - sometimes, in a mild winter; they survive - but just in case this year I brought half a dozen plants inside and put them on the bedroom windowsill.  Well the ones in the greenhouse bit the dust - they were my regal pelargonium collection in lovely colours - the more commonplace ones I brought indoors - I should have done it the other way round shouldn’t  - oh well I’ll know better next year.

Last week we had a radiator that was leaking in the corner the plumber who we have used several times before for other leaks came fairly promptly and we had a new radiator within a few days - as I was going shopping I left a blank signed cheque to pay with - yesterday the plumber rang to say the cheque had been rejected as suspected fraudulent - why - because there were two different handwritings on it - I suppose it’s good they they are vigilant - I’ve never had a cheque rejected before - I know people don’t use cheques much any more or carry £250 of cash either - so if your plumber or tradesman doesn’t have a machine to deal with payments the only other option is a bankers draft which the bank makes you go through hoops to transfer money.

Nothing is easy any more - like when you go online to buy something  - say clothes and they won’t accept a  direct payment but you have to go through a credit company or refer you to an app - it really gets my goat - okay rant over.

Meanwhile it’s a lovely sunny day today - cold but not windy - I’m going out now to prune all last years growth from the fuschia outside the front door - it’s a huge bush that is at least forty years old - I thought I had lost it during the drought, was it last year or the year before - but it pulled through looking a bit worse for wear - I prune it at this time every year - so I’d better get on before the sun disappears.