Between

If you are waiting for someone who is late, start an interruptible job you don't want to do. The later the person is, the more of the horrible job gets done: built-in compensation.

Today the house ventilation system was due its six-month service at 11am. At 11:05, I started doing my online tax return where each page is relatively quick, is saved as you go and can be returned to any time before 31 January next year. The ventilation engineer timed it to perfection and the doorbell rang at 12:05 just after I'd pressed submit on the final return and the screen showed me that the government owes me 40p.

He was great - pleased that I was keen to know how the system works and very happy to explain, to let me take notes and to answer my questions.

As well as checking that everything is working as it should six months after the system was switched on (it is), he changed the two filters, one cleaning the air as it comes in from outdoors and the other cleaning it as it circulates through the house. It's sobering to see what we breathe in when we fling open windows to let in the 'fresh' air. I've put the pictures and a bit more technical stuff in my RetroPHit journal.

That journal is desperately behind because I got so dispirited in the last half of the building process but I will fill it in gradually.