In Partnership

I don't know why the words are not imprinted on my brain: JOHN LEWIS!!! But I forget, and spend wasted time trawling the internet for things that are unsatisfactory and unreliable, only to remember, often too late. If they sold houses and cars, that's where I'd get them. If I remembered. So when I had to buy a garden parasol to replace the one that had an accident last year, I ordered it from a very nice garden furniture supplier online. Today, 24 hours later, it was due to be delivered when I remembered UV protection. As someone who can't sit in the sun and needs serious cover-up, you'd think it would be uppermost in my mind. No. I rang the company to check the measurement and they couldn't tell me, so I had to cancel the order. Back I went to the internet trying to check the UV protection on parasols without success, until an ad for John Lewis came up. There in the fine detail for all of their garden umbrellas it showed the strength as 50+, meaning only 2% of UV rays could penetrate the fabric. Job done! I ordered my parasol. And that's when the trousers I was on the brink of sending for yesterday before I got called away from the computer also showed up, and I ordered them too. Oh John Lewis, how I love, love you do.

I spent a sleepless night thanks to scoffing a whole load of delicious salt and black pepper Tyrrels crisps. I know that things like that disagree with me, and I rarely eat them, but I served little bowls of them to go with the wine last night and they are so yummy I couldn't resist them myself. They didn't make me feel sick, or even restless. I was lovely and cosy, just wide awake. God, it was a long night. How insomniacs survive I don't know. Eventually I must have nodded off because I woke at 9am after trying to clean a disgusting grill pan in the ski lodge where I was holidaying with a lot of young people. I've no idea where that came from. The only television I watched was a recording of Carol, my second viewing, and the line "I cannot live against my grain" seared itself upon my brain. Quite so. Like eating food you are allergic to, it's very bad for your health.