The living room curtains now fit without me having to cut and sew one of the others on to them. They had wire things to make triple pleats (similar to yours, SRS?) which I have adjusted so they are only single pleats - and lo, the curtains are wide enough to meet in the middle.

The plumber has turned up, after weeks during which he forgot I wanted a shower. But fitting another one reminded him. Strange bangings from upstairs.

I thought I would keep the wooden bath panel off to revarnish it, but looking at the state of the back, decided not to. It will get replaced as soon as I find a suitable replacement, and will become a revetment between the veggie bit and the flower bit of the garden. I was going to use a strip of little half logs from the builders' merchant, but this will do the job better. And join the two old bedhead balustrades. I clearly have English allotment genes - these patches are always full of adapted stuff, such as old windows becoming cold frames.

Yesterday I had another go at the hole for the water tank. It is clear why water, which had hung about in a puddle on the surface, drained quite quickly once I had dug down a bit. There's a layer of interlocked flints - so gaps for drainage. But a major digging problem - flakes shoot all over the place when I mattock it. I have glasses, so my eyes are all right, but I'm going to get safety goggles as well. And have thick trousers and long sleeves. And I want to know how people used to dig wells - round here about 200 ft deep, and not much more than a yard across. Presumably with very short picks. Not mattocks and spades.

Penny