24 Hours

In bed last night, in a twilight state, I heard a faint scratching outside the bedroom door.

With insane indulgence, Clare maintains a bowl of munchy-crunchies on the landing for the cat in case it ever feels the need for a snack .. and can't be bothered to pop downstairs.

I turned to Clare, "We've got a mouse."

I retrieved the vole-trap refuge from downstairs and seeded it with the dry cat-food on a folded paper napkin (we give a 5 star service here), positioned the device by the side of the wall .. and went back to bed.

Several minutes later, more faint sounds from the other side of the door. And there in the box was a large vole, bright-eyed and alert, not the least bit cowed. He was forthwith released into the front garden.

The cat was roundly chastised this morning for laziness, lack of prowling and perhaps even bringing the wretched thing up in the first place.

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Clare's bedside Roberts Radio packed up last night.

"The batteries are gone," she told me, so this morning I bought four large 'D' batteries (£6) and duly replaced them.

I never truly believe 'stuff works'. I turned the radio on to check and the screen lit up showing the DAB mode tuned to Radio 4 .. but no sound came out. I tried this and that, attached the mains power unit, checked for loose wires. Nothing.

I assumed this was the end of the story - time for a new radio, but Clare then confided she had had it in a hot bath with her yesterday, positioned on her knees amidst the steam while she played with the stations.

Hmm.

After fifteen minutes in the warmth of the room the radio came to life.

The world divides into those with an instinctive feel for the weaknesses of electronic equipment, and those that, well, .. not so much.

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"The poster at George Osborne's event this morning made a bold claim - that there would be a £4,300-a-year cost to families by 2030 if Britain leaves the EU."

XKCD nails it again - "but somehow, I can't help myself ..."

Economic models which diverge from reality on a timescale of months extrapolated to fourteen years.

Give me a break! *

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* Hint: what are the chances that the political-economic structure of the EU in 2030 (or even a lot sooner than that) will look anything like what we see today? Yet the models have to assume no significant difference - they don't do political extrapolation. The truth is, no-one can possibly know or even plausibly guess.