Locking up here is a long-winded business. Every door, internal and external, locks with a key. Three doors on the ground floor, three on the first, plus the garage door. Hopefully that’s everything covered. I’m glad B seems to look upon this as his job! Last night I was very tired and went straight down to bed while he did his rounds. (The novelty of saying ‘down to bed’ continues to amuse me…) Once in the bedroom, I heard the rumble of the garage door closing; clearly we – actually I – had forgotten about it earlier.
“I got a fright in the garage,” B told me when he finally joined me in the bedroom. “I went into the garage from the house, and a large bat flew out! I’ve christened it Joan, after your mother!” It took me until the next day to figure out why he was calling it after Mum; I was much too busy giving silent thanks that it hadn’t been me who surprised the bat. I like bats… In their place… Which is not in our garage! ‘The Old Bat’ can sleep elsewhere, thank you!
A Corner of Cornwall 