Yesterday was what you might call an up and down day, as I climbed a set of steps to emulsion the ceiling and the walls in my hall. I did miss my painting partner of years past, the companionable silence as we worked, his whistling and the beakers of coffee he brought me at regular intervals.

So yesterday James Last non stop dancing provided the tempo for my brush strokes, and I let my thoughts wander as I worked the longer straightforward areas.

I was working against time as I wanted to finish in daylight. My pace was slower than in the past, but I was testing the ankle I injured in September. It behaved, I behaved – no messy spills – and as I finished the last stroke, the words “I DID IT” echoed round the space.

Replacing the lid on the paint bucket and gathered the brushes for cleaning, I realised it was at 3.45 pm and I had not eaten since breakfast. Don’t tell Nurse Hitler, she will only nag at me! By that stage the leg began to nag and my neck was stiff.

A plateful of home made lamb stew from my freezer and a few boiled spuds, a couple of painkillers and a kettle full of boiled water helped get me back on track.

The next stage is to paint the ten door surrounds with a coat of eggshell finish. Yes. There are 10 doors in my hall, but I can do that with my feet on terraferma, no climbing needed. It can wait until tomorrow, I need a day of rest today, so I am off to meet a friend for a good old chinwag and some lunch.

Some of the phrases from my young days that came to mind while on top of the ladder:

“The sun was splitting the trees!”
“Twenty fags please.”
“A rubber and a parer”

We eat rashers & sliced pans and kept clothes in a hotpress.
Lino covered the floor and we bought  ‘toilet rolls’.

Now I will leave you to work that lot out or add a few phrases of your own…

See you later alligator….