We had some lovely flowers for Burns night so they are making everything look brighter as is the home-made book with daffodils on the cover.

Answer: Lots

Here goes

5 – 1 =4  (we start with Ruth at a friends having had a sleepover)

4-1 = 3 (I go to my numeracy course – luckily it’s only equivalent fractions there not algebraic fractions)

3+3 =6 (three Ds arrive)

6-3=3 (2 Ds and a Gibson go to English workshop – 1 Gibson works at home 1 D and a Gibson play card games)

3+1-1 =3  (I arrive home from work and Martin leaves for a meeting passing the keys like a baton in a relay race)

3+3 = 6 (Ruth and a D and a H arrive here for felting – After Ruth has TIDIED HER ROOM!!!!  Rebekah has gone to Ryde for a singing lesson and to deliver Beacons with another D)

I am now expecting the following to happen

6+1= 7 (Martin arrives home)

7+1=8  (a H Mum  arrives to pick up the H)

8-2= 6 (Hs leave)

6-1 = 5 (a D leaves)

5+3= 8 (an O, B and Gibson arrive – it’s ECDL night)

8+1=9 (a D dad arrives)

9-2=7 (all Ds are now gone)

7-1=6 (this is the end point for the night – B has gone and we have gained one O for the night)

Phew!

And people worry about socialisation!

The delightful people at Midland Expressway Limited have come up with an ingenious pricing system.  I looked up their prices online and decided that while they were rather high at £4.70 for a car decided I would stomach the cost for the time saving.  Imagine my surprise at being asked to pay £9.40 (the same as if I was driving an HGV) when I pulled up at the toll booth.  I spluttered and burbled a bit, only to be told that vehicles over 1.3m high were charged differently.  If I had not have been so flustered by this alarming news I might have pointed out that many “normal” cars are over 1.3m (the Ford Mondeo clocks in around 1.4 for example).  However, I simply handed over my credit card (having run out of cash).  On reaching my destination I checked out the website and found that in fact the height measurement is at the front axle.  Now, I drive a Toyota Liteace people carrier, which is quite diminutive in length and width, but on the tall side at just under 2m.  However, because those clever Japanese car makers have made use of all the available  space, the front end is like a cliff, and the driver is sitting almost directly over the front wheels.  So, height and front axle is about the same as maximum height.  Now, if I had say, a Land Rover 130 I would be charged as any other car (my understanding is they meet the 1.3m at front axle).  Said vehicle is 130mm taller than mine, 140mm wider, over a metre longer and weighs nearly twice as much.

Moral of this story?  If you have a compact, lightweight, but van shaped people carrier, avoid using the M6 Toll, the Trolls will get you.

Image: (CC) Amanda Oliver, www.flickr.com/photos/the_amanda/

Image courtsey of wokka

1: Mum says so and she thinks she’s always right

2: I always seem to be being “stupid” at the wrong moments in time

3: I keep breaking things when people are already in bad moods

4: because I was talking and listening to Diana at the same time, but she didn’t seem to understand the fact I could listen to her and talk to someone else at the same time

5: I spilt a whole half cooked cake onto the floor whilst Dad was trying to make his dinner

6: because I didn’t take a towel with me when I was rinsing the conditioner out of my hair.

7: because I wear “stupid” shoes on walks (may I point out they were my old already muddy shoes)

8: because I can’t add 7 and nine together.

9: because I put 3 tablespoons instead of 3 teaspoons of salt into my bread dough (I’m sure it said tablespoons)