Redux

I feel there's been a lot missing, but not very much happened. Anyway:

Mother and niece (7) came to stay. Mother annoyed everyone. Niece and I went on holiday with the Brownies. All Brownies behaved themselves well and undertook many adventurous activities, fear only being displayed for the most part in the face of potato, peas, and bed-times, not in the face of Climbing Up Large Structures And Jumping Off In A Harness.

Self and Brownies and Niece arrived back home, immediately followed by mother (who does not know the alarm code, who KNOWS she does not know the alarm code, so what did she think she'd do if we weren't back yet?). Mother annoyed everyone.

Several areas of London and Manchester burnt to a crisp/smashed to pieces. Include a) high street shops near my former church (where we got married) b) residential street opposite ditto c) precinct 1/2 mile from mother-in-law's flat and d) small row of shops 100m from MIL's flat. Does not include high street shops nearer my old flat (but not much nearer - church is about 1 1/2 miles away, other shops about 1 mile) as these are heartily defended by Turkish shopkeepers with baseball bats.

Despite rioting, the flat, which was for rent, gets an offer within a week of being on the market. London housing is crazy.

Your author becomes not only published but paid for. If you have not yet seen the link on that other place, email me (as it does, not surprisingly, reveal my name).

MIL turns 91 and thankfully does not have any idea about the rioting round the corner from her house. Also has no idea who I am. She is at least polite and does not say this to my face.

Mother is arranging 70th birthday which is in January, for which she "just wants to stay home and have everyone to stay and cook for them". Even just her two children, their spouses, and my two nieces won't fit round her table. Despite being very rude about them, I do know she has kept a few friends over the years. She does not like the idea of going out anywhere or going to stay anywhere, but wants to take the same people to Paris at Easter, wondering (yet again) why we cannot commit to that yet.

Added into the mix now is that Mr Spouse has surprised no-one but himself and got a First in his degree and is moving on to do an MSc in Something Boring and Businessy which includes a fairly lengthy work placement, which again cannot be predicted, probably cannot be changed, and my mother cannot understand why it can't be cancelled, predicted, or changed.