jonathan.beckett@gmail.com

Finally the Weekend

I'm having the quietest of quiet days today, and counting down the days until I stop work for two weeks. In-between all the usual household chores, we will escape to the coast for a few days to visit my parents. There's something about the air at the coast – it feels different than at home. I'm guessing it has something to do with the sea breeze.

One more week to go, then we start filling bags with clothes. At least now the children are older we don't have to take a world of toys and games with us – all they appear to need these days is a mobile phone.

We had builders in this week at home. A couple of years ago we had a leak in the kitchen – or rather in the bathroom above the kitchen – that destroyed the plaster around the kitchen doorway. Ever since fixing the leak we have been “going to get around to” getting the walls fixed. Now they are, of course we're having to think about re-painting the kitchen.

While making a coffee I watched the plasterer re-skim the walls on Friday morning. There's something about watching a skilled tradesman practice their craft – it's like a magic trick – the result of thousands of hours or practice, skill, and experience.

Of course the builders blew a hole in our bank account that I'm once again trying to re-fill. I may well be hitting YouTube over the coming days with more pretend aeroplane escapades. An unlikely source of income that comes in handy from time to time.