We received our mail-ordered present for Matthew’s birthday during the December lockdown and consequently were unable to give it to him until this morning. It was a professional electric drill kit.
While waiting for the equipment to charge up, our son sat on the decking working on a puzzle book.
He decided to try out the drill on the decking boards. He tells us that most people who fit this facility assume that the ridged sides should be uppermost because they think that the crevices are to provide a grip, when in fact they become slippery.
When the power was operative he set about lifting a section of the existing boards
and turning them over.
Here is the completed job. Note that the step has received the treatment.
Jackie in the meantime, having completed her work on the West Bed clearance,
carried on pruning beneath the Cryptomeria and elsewhere. I transferred some clippings to the compost bins.
After recording others’ work in progress, I scanned the next five of Charles Keeping’s faithfully detailed illustrations to ‘Our Mutual Friend’.
‘Mr Boffin closely tracked and observed by a man of genteel appearance’ gives the artist the opportunity to pack a street scene with detailed perspective.
A double page spread offers adequate room for ‘Mrs Boffin’s equipage’
‘Mr and Mrs Lammle walked in a moody humour’ uses the wind to indicate the cooling of their ardour.
‘ ‘Alfred, my love, here is my friend Georgiana’ ‘, displays Charles Keeping’s mastery of expression.
‘An ill-looking visitor with a squinting leer’
This afternoon Becky and Ian joined us. We enjoyed more delayed birthday present giving and all dined this evening at Lal Quilla. My main meal choice was a hot, sweet, and sour Chicken Jaljala which was excellent; poppadoms, nans, onion bhajis, and rices were shared; Kingfisher, white wine, fizzy water, and Diet Coke were quaffed. Service, as always, was friendly and efficient.
