Wow what an evening that was. Absolutely incredible. Terrible. Never seen anything like it....well not since the Brixton riots of the Thatcher years. I guess it couldn't have come at a worse time, but then equally I guess, the rising temperature of the summer hasn't helped.
I'd been saying to The Cat's Mother that things were getting overheated, and if we weren't careful we'd get burned.
And sure enough that was the case. Things went into melt down last night didn't they?
We were lucky, I guess, that we caught it early on, but there'll be some clearing up to do, that's for sure. We worked late into the night trying to sort things out. I didn't realise it would be so difficult, nor did The Cat's Mother.
You'd have thought that where we lived, we'd have been immune from problems. But I guess even the middle classes can't cosset themselves away from the troubles of a modern world.
We didn't realise there was a problem until we opened the door, but then it was obvious. Mess everywhere. I slammed the door as quick as I could, hoping that would help chill things off. But really when these things happen, you know there's nothing to be done.
Except buy a new freezer.
Yes, typically our freezer died yesterday, leaving the thing full of defrosted ice cream, pizzas, meats and heaven only knows what else. Not that finding a new one was as easy as we were expecting - we have an American-style one, and I guess like all things American they have got bigger in the last eight years. And have you tried to get a white one? We did manage it eventually, after a couple of hours of trawling the internet. Of the 54 American-style fridge-freezers offered by Appliances Online, only one fitted the bill, or would fit through the door. It'll be delivered on Thursday.
Meanwhile, I can report that the very thick clouds of smoke which deposited ash all over our cars this morning, were simply the result of a barn fire. Epping Forest is not really that prone to inner-city rioting, although in Buckhurst Hill a designer dress shop was broken into. Setting fire to the place would have been unfeasible...it may have melted their spray on tans.
I'm still trying to quite understand the man I overheard on his mobile as I cycled home along the canal, skirting round the Hackney and Bethnal Green trouble spots. "Yeah, they're laying a gun on him" I heard. I don't want to think about it....we've enough problems as it is.
