Hi stamper -
Doesn't help me much, but never mind!
I hope New Year passes off without any fresh catastrophies anywhere, so I'm holding my breath!
When I was single I used to enjoy going around all night from place to place, saying the same old same old greetings to everybody, strangers alike, but after I got married I didn't like that at all and became very territorial. I even felt invaded when the 'phone rang! Here, you can't even sleep through it: they explode everything like Guy Fawkes! Fortunately, I'm far enough away from town to mistake it for thunder and lightning, so my subconscious manages to get through it well enough, and lets me sleep. I used to be able to hear the rain falling onto the terrace when we first came here, and years later the garden sprinkler system that comes on in summer at around 1 a.m.; now I don't hear either. It was the same with the little alarm clock I still have on the bedside table: if I slipped into hearing its tick as I went to bed, it drove me crazy; now I never hear its tick, but I do hear the alarm, if I set it!
Best wishes to you, too, and many more years to celebrate.
Rob
