Marty

Good to hear, buddy!

So myself and Trusty Nikon took advantage of the bright (if cold) weather today, and decided to watch the sun go down together...

Guten Abend, Gary! Alles gut mit dir?

Good evening, all!

Well, several shocks in this chapter... I hope that Mr P is the only member of staff who has been abusing boys in the children's homes, and that he isn't part of some larger ring of paedophiles. These rings appeared to have operated almost without any checks for decades up until recently, but they should nowadays find it harder to keep their activities secret... Great that Becky and Jim have signed the lease for a house. Let's hope it all works out for them. The Major was right; Ian and Kevin should be able to talk about each others' problems without resorting to shouting at each other. But they're both young, so are probably expected to over-react at times. I'm not sure why the Major himself got so upset, though. Perhaps it was because he, himself, shouted at the pair of them. But I took that to be mainly a result of his military training. Hopefully he can be found, and has calmed down when he is found. And, fingers crossed that JJ will be found somewhere safe to live...

No can do, sorry. Privacy reasons.

No-one seems to know when the house was actually built. But it is visible in a photograph taken in the early years of the 20th century....

The house may be older than you or me, Albert. But the central heating is a lot younger.

No. It's in a purpose-built under the counter cabinet in the kitchen. And that's your quota of questions used up now.

Well the one that was already in probably dated back to the 1980's. The replacement is maybe 15 years old. My long term plan is to replace the oil-fired central heating boiler with a brand new air-to-water heat pump. That may have to wait a year or so, though, as there are other more pressing priorities that need doing.

Today was a good day. Weather was dry and sunny (but cold). Got a bit of the garden tidied up. Hope to have the boiler for the central heating fixed on Monday. Things moving along nicely, thank you very much.

Correct! But I very nearly finished up with frostbite

Good to hear!

Hi, young Albert!

Sending rain to Albert

That's about 2 degrees more that what I had in the west of Ireland. It's currently 6:30 pm and the temp is down to 4°C (39°F) and expected to drop to zero (32°F) or below overnight. Brrrrrr...

Hey, Gary! Must admit that I don't like driving in the snow; even though I normally love driving.

Good evening, young Albert! Everything good in Albertville? (I'm heading out shortly. Need to buy a new waste trap for the wash hand basin in the scullery of my new old house. )

And also, so I am told, the most important meal of the day.

That's your own fault, B. It's what you must expect if you're gonna live in Upside-Down Land

Well, young Albert... And how's life in Albertville today?

Hi, Page

All reasonably good here in Martyville, thanks. Although I was at the funeral of the mother of one of my best friends earlier. She was over ninety years old, and hadn't been all that well for the past couple of years (also suffering from severe Alzheimer's, which has made it difficult for the family members). So in a way her passing was sort of a blessing, but still not easy for the family. Weather here still dull and grey. Maximum temperature was around 5°C/41°F. But at least the clouds should mean we escape a frost tonight. Currently trying to edit a chapter for someone.

Hey, bud! How's things in Gary land today?

And that GIF you shared, @Valkyrie, looks to me to be more likely to be from Fawlty Towers than Monty Python...