One finger typing

I'm already in bed at 8pm. It's freezing cold - seemed like the best option. The light grainy snow became a blizzard at about noon then eased off again - just bloody cold now. There is a police helicopter overhead, very unusual for here, in Liverpool - it was a nightly occurrence.

Easter Saturday, and still in the grip of winter.

I did manage to get out into the garden. The compost bin was packed full ( after 6 months of cold - nothing rots down - so it's brimming over ) - so I had to pull the spare down from the terrace - I had a couple of buckets of kitchen waste already at the back door and nowhere to put them - so I had no choice. Garden looking very barren. Most of the leaves have fallen off the photina - I hope it recovers. Had a bit of a general clear up - the fences all needed mending after repeated storms - that's a full day's work and the whole garden needs turning over.

In the COOP, the store was jam packed with old people, cramming the aisles full in little groups - but not actually buying anything., A couple of doors away from the COOP is a large, detached pub called the Oddfellows that closed down last year - found out today that it is going to be converted to a Tesco local, despite a  public campaign. I'm actually quite relaxed about it - it's not going to be the end of the world, better that than an empty building.

Shaved my head earlier - not my favourite pastime, makes me look older and more tired - better that than a tenner every fortnight to have some fool make me feel insecure in the barbers. I  bought these clippers a few weeks after I left home at 17. they still work perfectly, probably my first real purchase with my own money. I made a small, cork lined box for them I bought them from the small adds in a newspaper - I think it was the South London Press. At the time, the very prospect of reaching the age of 46 was unthinkable. The council flat I had at the time was much warmer than this house.

I had a polling card through for the local council elections - they are not for weeks - I will have lost it by then. My local MP, who I'm sure you already know I detest - keeps popping up like a bad rash in the local paper, pressing the flesh etc. She has exactly the same facial expression in every picture.

I cooked 2 lamb shanks on the stove today at the lowest possible head for 6 hours. The results were excellent. The dogs delighted in the bones, but both have staggeringly bad wind. I wish I hadn't bothered.