I'm so grumpy this morning. I went to bed at half past midnight, which is not horribly late for a Friday. But one of the neighbours' cats woke me up at 5.50 am by miaowing outside my bedroom window. Having suggested to the little bastard that it relocated itself, I went back to bed.

I'd just dropped off when another set of neighbours started their car and left it idling in the drive way for ... oh ... ten minutes or so. This wouldn't be so bad but the drive runs along the side of my house. It's on concrete, with a brick wall on one side and a steel fence on the other. The sound is magnified. At the end of the ten minutes, they entire family packed into the car. Slam. Slam. Slam. Slam. And the boot. Slam. Off they went, with a jolly blast on the horn to Granma as they left. (Yeah, I know you can't shut a car door quietly but the bloody idling and tooting ... )

It gets worse. For some reason, just about everybody in the street left home at ten to fifteen minute intervals until 8 am. Then my alarm went off and I had to get up.

Why didn't I sleep in? Well, today may possibly be the day on which my side gate gets replaced. I hold no great hope that this will happen, but I have to be up and about on the off chance that the gate man will appear. At some time. In this dimension.

I'll keep you (gate) posted.