Scratchy Subject in Scottish Meanderings

It would be reeeeeally nice if - just for once - I could just be ill you know? Just be able to lie there wilting like the proverbial dying swan and drop off if my body needs to WITHOUT 3 cats swarming all over me and 25 interruptions at the door ......

Ok 25 might be a slight exaggeration.

But worse - much worse - I DO NOT want to be wilting in my bed WHEN THE WINDOW CLEANER COMES!! And that's what almost happened yesterday.

He kind of comes at random times and if I sat and worked it out it probably follows a pattern of several weeks in between but obviously he has to work against the weather so I can't really predict when he's coming. Most of the time it doesn't bother me but yesterday, in bed and trying to ward off a horrible chest infection, I kept getting prevented from dropping off to sleep by either the cats bugging me or the doorbell going.

I'd already seen in my e-mail that some books I'd ordered for Christmas were being delivered that day so I'd stuck a post-it note (it was too late to reorganise redelivery) on the front door and told the postie to leave the parcel on the top step. I live in a cul de sac and my front steps have the advantage of being fairly out of sight of the main road so that was fine. And he did. Except - possibly needing a signature (the post-it wasn't a clue??) - he also rang the bell. Just as I was dropping off.

Half an hour later - almost at the drop off point again - the doorbell went once more. Stamps from Royal Mail this time. But they plopped through the letterbox. So that was okay.

Third time lucky.

At that point Snarf appeared for his breakfast. Normally he's right there with the other 2 when I come down in the morning but every now & then he obviously has some other Very Important Business to attend to (like chatting up some other neighbour no doubt) and doesn't appear until around lunchtime. This, of course, was one of those times.

So I tried again.

And I was just heading nicely into unconsciousness and drowsily wondering what that slight banging noise was which sounded pretty near when I suddenly shot out of bed realising the sound was the window cleaner cleaning my front upstairs windows!! Oh God the near-shame! Lying in tatty jammies right underneath my picture window with horrible bed hair, a crumpled bed and unable to do anything but wave weakly and blow my nose or something to show there was a reason for being in bed at one o'clock in the afternoon.

Luckily I sleep at the back of the house.

I do believe there is someone up there looking after me on occasion.

So I had time to hide in my bedroom and then switch to the front bedroom when I heard the ladders being moved round the back and thus the game of cat and mouse played out until he was done and his little payment slip popped through the letterbox.
Peace. Finally.


So I ordered it. And it's come as you can see.


But unfortunately the old one is still here.

So far Instant Neighbour has rejected it. And the British Heart Foundation has rejected it. No-one on the free part of Gumtree is interested. I contacted SACRO where I used to work and which ran a supported tenancy project - they were always looking for furniture etc when a tenancy was being set up so I thought that they might be interested. Nobody's got back to me. Another organisation called 'Someone Cares' said they couldn't tell much from the photo so to arrange a pick up then their drivers could assess it. I have a feeling that that will be a no as well.

I can understand if it's going to be put in a shop for sale but I would have thought if it was a choice between a comfy seat with a few cat scratches and nothing at all there would have been no contest. Apparently not. My last resort will be to pop into the Recycling Centre nearby and speak to the guys who work there. They're always on the lookout for a bargain and you can hardly get out of your car nowadays before they're all over you to 'help' which really means 'what have you got and can I make use of it/sell it'.

But this flummoxes me.

{Picture of label on settee not found}