Monkey puzzle

We are living in difficult times. Every news bulletin emphasises the precarious nature of the world's economy, impending recession, the biosphere and climate change, food and fuel supply. Even the excited anticipation of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing became a story of doom and gloom yesterday because of the air pollution levels.

In our house, Mr A is struggling with his demons, and the future of his business. The company is solvent, but not providing the income he expects or deserves. A number of factors have reached critical points, and it is decision time. I still don't know what that decision will be, nor how it will be made, or when. This is unsettling. Marriage is hard work. I have been helping by reading a proposal for a large job that Mr A is putting together. It's like the worst kind of homework, where you're not sure what's required and you know you're not very good at the subject either.

My self-imposed task of dealing with the shower has started. It is horrible. Some of the grouting has cracked and some is mouldy - scraping it out with a grout scraping tool makes a sound that is almost unbearable. I thought that excising mouldy sealant with a Stanley knife blade would be quite satisfying - it is not, and is much more difficult than I expected. I haven't even started rubbing down the flaking paint on the shower frame, but I doubt that will be any fun either. I didn't think this job would be enjoyable, but I didn't expect to hate it all so completely.

To temper this unpleasantness, we watched the Wimbledon final on Sunday, I had a lovely time playing badminton on Monday, and last night I spent the evening with Sally and Steve in Birmingham, where I used to work. A pint in the Shakespeare pub for old times, then wonderful food at Cafe Soya. It was lovely to catch up with them again.