The Best Laid Plans

Hugo is not an office dog: official. We've tried but he just won't settle down and relax when he can't see me. His crying probably makes the other advisers, already under loads of pressure, irritable and stressed, and that makes me twitchy and uncomfortable. So I made a decision today. No more. Which leaves the decision I can't make, that of what to do with him instead. I expect I'll know the answer by this time next week but I don't know it now. Today was very hard, what with acute language difficulties on the one hand and me just not being familiar with all the ins and outs of the benefits system on the other. The first two clients brought tricky problems but I worked through all the stages with them and got there in the end. The third one kept asking me to read letters from HMRC on her phone, expanding and contracting the tiny screen before my boggled eyes until I was dizzy. I can barely manage reading text messages (not true really). Oh, how my head ached. That was sorted out too, but it took nealy an hour longer than it needed to. Get to the point, I wanted to shout. Just tell me what the problem is! But patience prevailed and we got there. The thing is I really enjoy this work, and find it very satisfying being able to help people with their stuff. But it does take a toll.

What we needed when we finally finished for the day was a good walk, so we headed for the beach where the waves crashing onto the shingle and sand were not huge exactly but not fiddling and small either. It's a real tonic to walk by the sea when it's like this. It's a force of nature than carries on regardless of petty problems and irritations. Hugo galloped off as usual, chasing rabbits in the now very thick undergrowth leading up to the barriers around Sizewell A and B. I can't see him at all any more, but I know now that he will always find me so I strode on regardless and enjoyed letting my body relax and swing along easily. On the way home I stopped at Waitrose to check on the status of the Tanzanian chocolate ice cream with orange sorbet which they advertised on television but which hasn't been in stock for a couple of weeks now. I bought a plain chocolate one instead to tide me over, but my mouth waters for the other one. I staked up the fallen delphiniums when I got back, but it's too early to tell if they are OK or not. Tomorrow the dahlias should be ready to plant out, their positions nearly chosen. I noticed that Mr Mole seems to have returned. That serves me right for being smug only last week. His movements are subtle, and if they stay like that we can share the territory. But if he attacks the lawn it's curtains. Watch it moley!