How daft is that ?

A delivery van showed up late yesterday morning. Wilf was in his full volume 'we've got visitors ' greeting mode by the time I made it downstairs to open the gate . One look at the packing cases and it was clear that the furniture ordered in London last month was going to be in a bad state of repair . One look at the ' we don't enjoy our job and it shows' delivery men and Wilf knew that there weren't going to be any Jaffa cakes for him . Both of us were to be proved right. The store in London had simply put the tables and chairs in brown cardboard boxes; no bubble wrap, no padding, no nothing. How daft is that ? Daft enough for everything to have been smashed to pieces. The charmless shipping duo ( representatives of the French chapter of the international order of 'Don't ask me mate, we only deliver the stuff ' ) were unhappy about having to unpack the contents for me to check. They were even less happy about having to repack them and take them away again. Lesson - never sign for anything before getting it out of the box.

A quick call to London, photos of the devastation sent by e-mail, and then a quick return call from the store saying that replacement items will be delivered on Sunday. We shall see.

Have just finished reading a book ' The Great Silence' about life in London in the year after the end of the Great War. In it a description of the first jazz band to visit England from the States in 1919. The band leader , Mr Nick La Rocca, had an uncontrollable tic in his shoulder that had made him ineligible for the draft, but on stage his erratic arm movements had the unexpected bonus of making him disturbingly attractive - 'like a filleted eel about to enter the stewing pot' according to the Tatler magazine . The wildly popular new jazz music was opposed by the usual suspects. The medical profession advised young women against dancing to the new fangled music as 'all this jumping about could cause permanent damage to the arrangement of the internal organs as well as placing additional strain on their delicate nerves'. A Canon of St.Pauls cathedral viewed jazz as a 'lowering of moral standards and a sickness in the pulse of the country. An American invention with every conceivable crude instrument designed not to make music but noise'. They probably say the same about Lady Gaga today.

Read an article about puppy proofing your house. After nine years it's amazing how much I'd forgotten. If ever there is anywhere on the planet that is puppy unfriendly it's the rickety old farmhouse with its antiquated electrical system, widely spaced stair bannisters, uneven floor tiles and maze of corridors. A lot of work lies ahead. It looks as if we'll be driving off to the breeders on Monday. Thanks for all your advice - I'm determined that we don't buy a puppy on our first trip out. 'The font' just gives me a wry smile when I say this.

Over breakfast a family disagreement. 'The font' says that Jaffa Cakes aren't sold in the US. Can this be true ? It's too early in the morning to consult any of our own junk food experts on the East Coast . Wilf is most concerned.