World of Chig   

19.6.02

Here Comes The Summer


And how did I spend the football-free day? Trimming my bush. In the garden, I mean. Gorgeous day, brunch outside after a bit of a lie-in, then a severe pruning of the unruly plant-life that's taking over the L-shaped yard that I laughingly call a garden, throwing out some garden rubbish to make more space, and later on tackling a job in the house that I've put off for oooh, about 12 months. I'm a firm believer in the idea that if you ignore major household structural chores, they will somehow resolve themselves, but this, amazingly, often turns out not to be true. At some point last year, I couldn't open the window of my lounge. (The small window at the top is the only bit that opens.) The security lock on it, which had always been fiddly, just gave up the ghost one day. The bit which is supposed to pop up when you turn the key, enabling the window to be opened, stubbornly refused to pop up at all. At first, it could be resolved with a bit of key wiggling, but even that stopped working. Consequently, I haven't opened the window for about a year. Not that it mattered as Autumn and Winter drew in, and at least I knew the window was secure, permanently locked. This week, however, the sunshine, and my desire to fling open all the doors and windows to let in fresh air (and sneeze-inducing pollen) got the better of me. This evening, at the risk of breaking the glass, or falling off the window sill, or deafening my neighbours, I solved the problem the only way I could. I got a hammer, and I hammered and hammered and hammered until the screws twisted, the window frame began to split and eventually, the security lock came off. And boy, did it feel good. A wanton act of vandalism, like breaking into, or out of, my own home. And at last the window opens again, and I can breathe again, and not feel trapped indoors on Summer days. Tomorrow I will have to buy some new security locks, and use some wood filler and maybe a touch of paint. But it was worth it.

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