Friday Tipple

Looking out from my well protected home.

 

Saved me a walk into town – Léon was happy for me to leave the keys ‘til Monday, so I headed to the VSO office to do some work on the ‘tinternet and type up some letters. Gedge and Vikki were on chat – good to hear from them. Nice to know old Blighty’s still there even if I can’t remember what it was like to have a hot shower :op

I was planning to book in for lunch at VSO, but the kitchen was closed. Then the heavens opened and I was stuck in the office without food for a couple of hours. When it finally eased, I started back to mine and met Martine arriving, so she came back with me to see the house. She had cakes with her, I made coffee and produced bananas, so we munched on those and then had a wee tipple of waragi with coke as a celebration of it being Friday :)

The meeting was good and light-hearted. We cover things like managing resources, dealing with problem colleagues or bosses, defusing difficult situations, general capacity building and efficiency. It’s a good source of support and advice – no lunch, though :(

Damiscéne came to tell me he was leaving tomorrow. Apparently, Peter will come to introduce my new guard. I had a rant to Mum on the phone – the whole guard situation is stressing me out. I really don’t like someone wandering about in my back yard. This’ll mean three different blokes doing the job. More than that, though, I don’t like having to close my curtains of an evening or feeling like I can’t cook out back because there’s someone there. It feels intrusive. I don’t dry my undies on the line, I dry them inside (probably no bad thing given tumbu fly) – it’s just little things like that which make you feel like your home isn’t entirely your own. 

Also, Damiscéne couldn’t tell me when Peter would be calling. "Evening," he said, but it would have been nice to have a rough idea, it being Saturday. So, grrr, still not overly happy about the whole guarding situation. I am seriously considering asking VSO to stop it. I like my private space and this is making me feel a bit stressed, don’t really want to keep it up for two years. I think the guard is more symbolic than necessary. I feel very safe here. If I am going to get broken into, it’s likely to be during the day when neither myself or the guard are here. 

Some vols have been broken into at night and slept through it! If someone were going to do it here, they’d have to negotiate a padlocked iron gate, or climb a high wall laced with broken glass, then get through a barred, deadlocked, front or back door, then another locked wooden door inside (I lock both the kitchen and living room doors at night), then another one if they were headed for my room – which is highly unlikely. It’s better protected than most houses in England I’ve lived in. Besides, other than the laptop - which would be in my room if I didn’t have a guard - there’s really nothing of value to steal.

So, I shall give it some thought. It’s only 8pm here but I’ve come over dead tired. Going to get an early night.