I have been informed, though I don’t now how reliable it is, that ninety percent of accidents happen in the home and, after my little contretemps the other morning with a bowl of boiling porridge, I am not disputing it. It takes only a moment of carelessness or loss of concentration and shit-creek looms. I took the bowl out of the microwave and saw that the porridge had practically boiled over as I put it down on the butcher’s block. I used a tea trowel to do this but then picked the bowl up again without and, of course, my fingers slipped on the porridge lined rim and over went the bowl. Quick reaction to stop it from falling and shattering on the tiled floor but half the boiling porridge hit the table top, the stretcher beneath, my clothes, my slippers, the floor and worst of all my right hand. It took only a second to place the bowl back on the block before the hand was under the cold water tap. Relief form pain. Later rubbed it with a cutting from the aloe vera and no problem. The hand looked perfectly normal until late evening when one small blister appeared on the little finger. Weird that it should have taken so long but even that has more or less gone now.
I ate what was left in the bowl and then started to clear up which was more of a nuisance than anything else. Glutinous porridge tends to stick wherever it touches. Thank goodness I was right next to the sink or the result could have been a very burnt hand.
It’s probably just as well neither of the others was here or it could have been panic stations.
For the last few evenings we have noted the most wonderful scent in the house and couldn’t work out what it was. I thought at first it was what I call the ‘honey tree’ in the garden whose scent is absolutely wonderful but no, it was coming from the conservatory part of the breakfast room and it turned out to be this plant – I have no idea what it is called as I am simply no botanist – which for years stood about three feet high and then suddenly, whoosh, the bugger took off and now stands about nine feet tall, almost touching the roof. It is currently flowering, masses of white bloom and there is no scent during the day but the minute the sun goes down the house is permeated with this wonderful perfume. Aerosol manufacturers eat your hearts out; you can’t beat nature.