April 9, my 54th birthday

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The morning started badly. The next door neighbour, whom we decided not to invite at our summer party last week, knocked and had a go at me in the most unexpected way.

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She began by abusing me, and saying she did not want to have anything to do with us anymore. I simply said: "Then why did you make all the fuss about coming to tell me?" And she shouted at the top of her voice, so that the entire neighbourhood could hear. I shut the door, and was telling William that this disgraceful scene was entirely his fault as he had said not to send the invitation, when there was a violent kicking at the door, enough to break it. It was the nasty neighbour again, who said she had hurt her foot over the heavy rubbish bin not yet collected and would immediately call up the local council to put forward her request for a legal action against us. She said she couldn’t stand the smell of all the bins of the our road, taken outside far too late for the first collection of the day. So I had to call the council office again to explain what had happened. Hopefully this time they won’t come around to check.

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On my way to work I stopped by the café and bought muffins for all. I saw a birthday card doing the round of the desks yesterday, so breakfast was on me. Had to be done, which means off earlier.

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Arrived home tired and worried. William was on the phone with the painter and decorator, explaining the colour of the stairs for a retouch, despite the fact I've told him, and repeatedly, it’s time to change. Small victory when the painter said he had spent half-a-day calling at warehouses to see if he could get it and no, no results. He suggested we should entirely repaint the stairs, which is what I want. Plus, it would cost very little more, whereas if he tried to match what we’ve got now, he could only make a bad job of it. He must be a good man because he said that it would be more satisfactory to him and to us to have the work done properly. I agreed, William conceded, so for now I think I can say  job done.

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I thought I had just the time to let out the-evil-in-me for its yearly one-time off on my birthday. This year the target had presented herself right at the start of the day, I felt I couldn’t miss it. Pulled out flowers of her front garden, bleached her succulents and stolen her gnomes, went to bed at nine.