Greater Horrors.

I spent the afternoon on rat-catcher duties.

Every single surface of my kitchen is now bleached to death - after years of low impact and natural cleaning products I'm sure I used so much I could hear the dolphins screaming as my acrid effluent bespoiled the oceans.

There is not a single spec of dust or particle of food anywhere - everything is carefully packaged away, there is no cooked food - and all the dry stuff in on high shelves impossible to reach.

It won't do any good. Last night I head the fucker inside the studwall, and at about 3am I hear the tippy tappy of tiny claws on my floor, both dogs ignored it.  The only way to be sure is to do what I have already decided I can't afford - finish decorating the kitchen. Re-stud the outside wall, tile and add vents. New floor and new window locks. This also entails re-plumbing and re-wiring.

The odd / good thing is that I couldn't actually find any real evidence that it was there. No droppings, no food packaging has been tampered with - nothing....  I'm going to spend this week laying down layers of bleach and anti-bac to warn it off and have a look at my budget over next weekend.

I shall wait until later before I try and detect that strange smell again. There were dozens of house flies in the house so it's inevitable that death's hiding somewhere. I was going to have a rice dish tonight but I can't face anything kitchen based so it's Pizza and wine instead.

That kitchen's a liability - It needs a new roof and leaks - I did consider knocking it down (it's a lean-to - would take less than an hour) and moving the kitchen into the dining room - which is much larger, and turning the space into a conservatory. I still may if things don't improve.

Afterward I took the dogs out and blithely wandered through a campsite full of children with my flies down. I'm hiding behind the sofa now waiting for the community support officer to come banging.