The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2924 by Angharad Copyright© 2016 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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I watched Debbie teach and it was adequate, she made her points quite effectively and the students stayed awake—so hopefully learned something. She did have one person ask if Darwin was just a theory and she handled it well. It is a theory, but with so much evidence to support it only someone who was determined to ignore it, would consider it unproven as the way life evolved from simpler to more complex forms or more specialised forms.

If anything the theory gets more complicated if we consider it all on a tree diagram, because according to one school of thought, nearly all the branches belong to bacteria except one or two which account for everything else. There is some controversy about it because the researchers who postulate the hypothesis are doing partial DNA analyses of bacteria found in things like farmyards and swamps and suggesting the number of species is vast compared to conventional thought. It’s not my field, so I’ll wait until something more definite is agreed before I include it in any teaching I do, though if I see it in an essay or exam paper, I might give extra marks as it would demonstrate the student had been actively searching for information and material to use—providing they give references to the source.

Debbie, Diane and I had lunch at the restaurant Tom uses most of the time. They do a good tuna salad and I felt in need of boosting my mercury levels. Of course, he appeared just after we did and blethered about me keeping secrets from him, viz., dining here without telling him. He’s met Diane but not Debbie so I introduced them. She nearly fell of her perch when I introduced him as, ‘my dad, the vice chancellor.’ After which she said very little seeming overawed, though I don’t know why as Tom is one of the most approachable men I’ve ever known.

Of course, he told her to go and see him any time she felt she needed advice from someone who’s been there, done it and survived the experience. He didn’t quite say it like that but my translation for Debbie and Diane, more or less did. He can speak in perfect English when the mood takes him but when I’m there he lapses into Lallans or Lowland Scots as opposed to Hie’land Scots which has more Gaelic in it. But then he does come from Edinburgh or near there so what can one expect. Yeah, okay, I come frae Dumfries—well, I was born there, so I’d better shut up.

I left Debbie to deal with her tutorial groups in the afternoon but invited her over for Sunday lunch having made sure that David was actually working that day. Home is rather noisy at present with builders on site repairing the cottages. It would probably have been cheaper to demolish them and start afresh but like everything in this area they’re grade two listed, so have to appear the same as before, at least on the outside. It’s a real pain and adds to the costs as well as the time involved as the builder had to find a couple of dozen of the roof tiles which are no longer made. A reclaim yard managed to get them for him at exorbitant cost.

On the Saturday, I did my inspection of the villa Mr Whitehead had left me. I let it to a chap teaching in the spy school up the road—no one is supposed to know about it but everyone does. It looked in good condition, so he and his girlfriend are taking care of it and we discussed the rental which we agreed was fair and reasonable. It’s another listed building and will need painting outside probably next year, which I’ll have to pay for.

Sunday arrived and I asked the girls to be on their best behaviour, a wasted plea when Lizzie tipped her cereal over the head of Puddin’ who was walking past her high chair at the time. World War three was averted just by Stella whipping her daughter upstairs and into the shower. I shouted at Lizzie which made Cate cry—don’t ask. Then Trish and Livvie had a stand up fight over who was going to load the washing machine or use the vacuum cleaner. Normally they either hide when I’m looking for volunteers or just do as I ask. The squabble got bigger as Hannah got involved so I determined who was going to do what and threatened to stop their pocket money for six months if they didn’t behave.

Finally, Danielle threw a wobbly when she couldn’t find one of her football boots. She’d had them in school the day before which was probably where it was and I phoned Sister Maria who agreed she could go and collect it.

Sensing my stress levels were reaching explosive level, daddy hid out in a greenhouse most of the morning pricking out seeds, I think, so why he took my Observer, I don’t quite understand. I did know that the greenhouse would be nice and warm in the sunshine, so apart from sending one of the girls out with a cup of coffee mid morning, I left him to it. I was surprised Simon wasn’t hiding in there with him, but he decided to saw some logs with Julie helping him—I suspect she’s after something, like a new car; Phoebe is down to get her Smart car when she moves on to something else. If Julie is setting her sights on a Jaguar, she may have to lower them a little as banking is having a difficult time at present, unlike their salon which is looking to expand into the shop next door which is vacant. I believe the landlord is happier to see a hairdresser rent it than a charity. So she might be after a loan for that.

Somehow, by the time Debbie arrived, things had calmed down. Danielle had both her boots and Simon hadn’t cut any limbs off with a saw. I made him go and change into something tidier for lunch and also checked the girls were clean and tidy too. They were all in jeans and various tops, including one which declared, ‘Someone I know went to Menorca and all I got was this lousy tee shirt.’ It was Trish and she bought it herself.

I was in jeans and a polo shirt with a cardigan—okay, the jeans were DK but the shirt came from Next or somewhere similar and my cardi was from M&S. So I don’t always wear designer gear, even when we have guests.

Debbie arrived wearing a nice zip up hoodie thing in soft leather which received immediate approval from Julie. Underneath she had a blue jumper and her painted on jeans but with flat shoes. She was overwhelmed at the house, which is quite large I suppose, I’ve seen smaller manor houses, Julie insisting on giving her the cook’s tour, of the downstairs rooms at least and when she saw the picture of the castle, Trish got involved. By the time I called everyone to eat, she looked completely boggled.

“They’ve got a castle,” she kept mumbling as she sat at the table, “they’ve got a friggin’ castle.”