We’re both more than a little tense tonight – in fact, I dare to say that DM is in a filthy temper and I don’t feel much less wired. It’s no-one’s fault but our own – lots of pain short-term, remember?

Well, we’re in pain. There is nowhere in our home that’s escaped the builders – everything we own, despite carefully carrying it all from room to room supposedly to escape dust, is gradually being swallowed by the stuff.

What’s worse is that I feel guilty too because I get to escape this place for a few days tomorrow but DM is stuck with it throughout. Poor David – he’s wheezing like mad, high as a kite on Ventolin and generally suffering. The lack of rest over the weekend hasn’t helped with our humour either!

I came in from the office to find him standing in the hall, all dishevelled, looking bewildered and when I asked him what was wrong, he said ‘I’m lost’.

We’ve found a leak in the plumbing too which is causing us problems because the drip is quite bad, there’s no room to put a bucket under it so the cup that’s catching the water has to be emptied every half-an-hour or so. The plumber can’t come and sort it until tomorrow so we face a sleepless night or the prospect of a badly damaged ceiling.

The builder doing the fireplace didn’t show up again so that’s not finished either.

All-in-all, we feel like getting the dogs on the leads, locking up the house and walking away from all this. But as you probably already gathered, I’m a stubborn old bird and won’t allow myself to be beaten…..unless all this kills us first. As for David – he’s looking marginally perkier at the prospect of a chilli and we’re going to relax the ‘no alcohol in the week’ rule tonight too. I think we need it. You know, dutch courage and all that!

There is no place nicer than where I was this time last year!