Unfortunately I have also had guests of the uninvited variety – Anobium Punctatum, or the common furniture beetle; yes, a woodworm by any other name is still a woodworm. More fortunately, my aforementioned two-legged visitor happens to be (amongst other things) an expert in these matters and has reassured me that the little bastards are unlikely to eat my apartment, confined as they seem to have been to a single picture frame containing one of my favourite acquisitions. Apparently they like plywood.

Chemical warfare was sought out and purchased, newspaper laid, all doors closed – the treatment is lethal to aquarium fish and needless to say I have been fretfully worrying about the fumes all weekend, despite wearing two pairs of gloves for spraying and changing clothes (well, pyjamas) afterwards.  The beloved objects of my concern have been happily digging in the gravel, stuffing themselves with thawed out bloodworm and showing no signs of distress whatsoever, completely oblivious to the unpleasant business in the very next room and I believe I have got off fairly lightly, although I will be repeating the treatment in a few weeks just to be on the safe side. Once again, the glamour value of my daily existance is unequivocably proven …to be not much, although I did recklessly celebrate until I felt a bit sick with a very fetching array of smart Belgian chocolates presented to me by a kindly caller early in the week.

Bathroom news and the job is almost finished; among other things I have this week successfully and without incident put together a flatpack cabinet in under two hours, bought fixtures, framed prints and lovely new towels and discovered that silicone lubricant is superb for removing excess mastic from hands. Who knew? The next main-ish job will be underway shortly, but is unlikely to affect day to day operations bar a day or two where someone other than me is going to be wallpapering – needless to say I will keep things up to date here.

I know that some have already noticed the ‘QUESTIONS’ box to the upper right, and whilst I am the first in line to cynically denounce the likes of Facebook and (God forbid) Twitter, Formspring.me is proving more interesting, any and all questions are genuinely welcomed and I can say with complete confidence that they WILL be answered! The only exceptions (and I admit to deleting two so far, but it’s early days) are those which are so badly composed as to be unreadable; text speak is surely not an appropriate way to address a complete stranger and since I do not reply to booking enquiries written thus, I’m afraid I will not be spending my free time trying to decipher and respond to sentences with no vowels, structure or discernable purpose. A little effort reaps rewards. Honest.

To this week and Bristol – I will be preparing and packing tomorrow; there are pockets of availability left but not many, and I am planning visits to the Clifton Suspension Bridge and hopefully the zoo (although since discovering that there is no Left Luggage at Temple Meads, my plans for kicking up my heels and making a day of things on Friday have been curtailed somewhat). I will be back in Scarborough next weekend, and here for a week before heading off to Glasgow.

Back to the toolbox lingerie drawer for some gentle stocking-pairing (or whatever it is people think I do all day long). Until next week…

My average monthly expense sheet is so often filled with entries like ‘Tea and Hula Hoops – £2.00‘, rather than (for example) the infinitely more grand ‘La Perla raw silk peignoir, £350′ (although the days when I could fit even one finger into anything from the aforementioned were gone by the time I turned nine) that I occasionally suspect that I may be not quite keeping to my side of the glamour bargain supposedly beloved of ladies of reasonable means. I have always thus been tempted to save myself the trouble and dump the small-change, finicky bits in the blue recycling bag along with the junk mail and empty tissue boxes, being as I am often unsure of quite when an engaging thriftiness becomes downright tightarse. Now I remember why I don’t. Yay!

Naturally I have celebrated by purchasing many new items, and am planning some more photographs in earnest – the bright weather will not last forever and the lovely natural light has always been my favourite key ingredient. The sunshine has still not let up in weeks, it seems and I have often been out and about enjoying the warmth and fresh air from beneath a carefully applied coating of coconut-scented Hawaiian Tropic Factor 50 – following the unholy pink colour and murderously stinging shoulders I acquired just strolling around Edinburgh on that first really hot weekend a couple of months ago, I have no intention of being caught out again and all excursions out of doors are being carefully prepared for (at home I am far more lackadaisical, being happy to stick to Factor 15 and just keep away from the windows).

This afternoon I am heading off on a leisurely Big(ish) Shop in preparation for what is beginning to look like a surprisingly busy week interspersed with more decorating and the World Cup final tomorrow night. Inspired by both the football and my Borough Market tapas last week I will be hoping to later create some Spanish-style delights myself (incidentally for a foolproof recipe that would make Popeye weep see here – I speak as a staunch and unrepentant carnivore) and am looking forward to wallowing hedonistically in an oily, garlicky, lemon scented and paprika-spiked utopia for much of the remainder of the day weekend.

I may also grudgingly buy some Edam, just in case.