It’s all been going a bit pear-shaped since the weekend when Something Bad happened to our local water main and the taps dried up. Though the supply got going again by nightfall, we had a very brief taste of how difficult life must be for the millions of people who don’t have access to running water. I tried to rise above it all and feel very grateful that for us, it’s only temporary – but you won’t be surprised to hear that was only a partial success and much of the day was spent muttering about Thames Water instead.
As well as failing that sainthood test, we are now ringed around by closed roads, so that getting out of the immediate area is quite a challenge. Different roads seem to be closed every day. We went down to inspect the naughty old water main that’s causing the trouble and it’s a huge crater in the centre of a main road. I’m wondering if it’s actually a sink hole that’s opened up and they’re not telling us in case we panic that there are more dotted about.
In the meantime, my Muber (Mummy Uber) operations are being severely curtailed. I’ve decreed that I can only give lifts on majorly urgent excursions, but that doesn’t work with teenagers as all their activities are of crucial importance. So I’m getting used to staring into the hypnotic red tail lights of the South Circular monster again. Still, it isn’t all bad. I re-did my nail varnish in one traffic jam yesterday. Don’t tell anyone.