I gave blood again, for the 34th time. Each donation is a US pint (it’s one of the rare occasions when the UK is on the receiving end of cultural imperialism), so that makes about 16L over my lifetime, approximately three adult humans’ worth. It’s also enough to run a shower for two minutes, or fill one fifth of a bath. I don’t know which would be more horrifying. Probably the shower. It was my first donation under the new, significantly less homophobic blood donor rules, which is a good change to see in operation.

I cut away the overgrown ivy in the passageway that leads to our back gate, so it’s easier to get in and out by bicycle. There was enough ivy to fill three bags, and it was a lot easier to cut it than to stuff it into the bags.

I took delivery of 30m of skirting board. The previous skirting board in the front room was pine, and had warped to much that it was twisted by about 30 degrees where it joined along the long wall. It was also too tall to fit under the radiator pipes, and had just been cut away there.

It would have been easier to fit the new boards before moving stuff into the house, but they’re made to order, and it takes a few weeks. I was, however, able to remove the old skirting board and fix the plaster, so all I had to do was cut the new boards to length and glue and screw them. That still took several hours on Saturday, but it was made much easier than it would otherwise have been by the Torx head screws I bought for the purpose. Unlike Posidriv (or worse Phillips), you don’t have to press while driving, and they are much less inclined to cam out. They all went in easily in seconds with an electric drill. I’m only buying fancy screws from now on.

I still have the other side of the room to do, but there won’t be furniture there, so it’s a bit easier. And the rest of it is destined for the bedroom, but that’s a non-urgent job for the future that needs to be co-ordinated with new wardrobes, flooring, ceiling, ….

I replaced the dim bathroom light that was falling out of the ceiling (because some fool had just used wood screws straight into plasterboard) with an LED unit that’s over twice as bright. I didn’t enjoy trying to connect sixteen wires into a tight space with my arms held aloft like I was at some kind of CIA torture site. At least I can see to shave now.

We avoided the football by going to the cinema to see Another Round (2020) aka Druk. It’s a cautionary tale about the perils of trying to maintain the Ballmer peak. It’s a really good film, but not always easy to watch.

I successfully offloaded a few more surplus electrical and household items via Freecycle. It’s liberating.