Reading, Ruminating & Household Appliances.

It’s Friday again; it came around quick. My latest book, The Gazebo, has got some reviews on Amazon US, Amazon CA and Goodreads, but not on my native Amazon UK as of yet.

As for me, I’ve been writing, reading and mourning the demise of my washing machine. It’s standard procedure for people to say how much better x or y was back in the day. In the case of household appliances, it really does hold true. Contemporary washing machines and dishwashers can’t hold a candle to their predecessors of the 1980s and early 90s. My household was graced by only two washing machines during my childhood and adolescence, and the first was replaced through choice, in favour of a larger model.

I’ve been through five washing machines thus far during my adult life. I’m presently waiting for number six to arrive. The rot set in with no.5 when all the wash cycles stopped working apart from quick wash. When it finally stopped spinning earlier this week, the writing was on the wall. If life expectancies are anything to go by, I’ll get through another nine, and that’s assuming the things don’t regress further.

Bosch – once a symbol of robustness and quality, now one of fragility and incompetence. Old habits die hard – I’ve just bought another. This one’s the dead one.

Here is a slow worm I stumbled across on my afternoon walk yesterday.

My hedge got very scruffy during lockdown. It’s time to give it a cut with a chainsaw on a pole. It could be a disaster waiting to happen. Wish me luck.

Have a good weekend.