Making one's own amusement!

Hello playmates! That was Arthur Askey's line, and that's who I felt like tonight, with Freda taking the role of his ever present straightman Stinker Murdoch. One of our Alice's favourite films, when she was little, was Arthur Askey's "The Ghost Train", and her favourite line was "There bein't no more trains through 'yer tonoight!" Askey was his usual irrepressible self, and Stinker Murdoch was the suave love interest for the ladies, of course.

"What made Edward feel like Arthur Askey?" I can hear my Dear Reader saying. It was the feeling of hopelessness one gets when there's nothing to do, and no money to do it with, and your beloved gets that gleam in her eye! Like a lot of the films of Askey's era, where they all muck in and have a laugh and a sing-song, and 'hey presto' the world's all right and proper again. And the friendly Copper smiles and slaps you on the back!

In other words: Freda has a new plan! A new list! And we are going to do as much as we can without spending a brass razoo!

You remember the 'Shady Area' on the roof terrace, if not here's a couple of pis just to freshen your memory. The first one was taken about five years ago, when it was first built, with a trellis type of covering.


This next one was after we'd decided that too much sun was penetrating through and we filled in the gaps with plywood covered in tent fabric, very effective, I thought.


But now; it's all COMING DOWN!!!!!

While serving our delightful (and now quite famous) breakfasts on the roof terrace, we are increasingly having to use the parasol to shade either the guests and the table, or the breakfast buffet. But at only three metres in diameter, it cannot cover both! We've tried shifting the buffet table around the roof terrace, but it's best where it is, so drastic measures are to be taken! A completely new 'Shaded Area' is to be built. It will also provide some much needed shade for our A/C unit, so we'll be killing two birds with one stone!

It's now 02.48, and I've just finished a cup of tea (don't snigger at the back there, tea is very important!) after having another shower, after doing away with all that work we put in those few summers ago, again, during the night if I remember correctly.

Here's tonight's work, in a before and after format:



And here's some of the muck which came down on top of Yours Truly:



I think I've earned my rest tonight, it took about one and a half hours to dismantle what was three nights work in putting up!

I'll keep you up-to-date as I go along. Don't worry, you won't miss anything important!