Inky, two days ago...

Quick - take that change to the bank!  They really love it when you turn up with bags of pennies to change!  (evil smiley)

Carry on the good work, inky. Why not p[ut the change into one of the supermaket chains charity coin  changer. Once you've done that, you just take the recept to customer services and they give you what dosh you have remaing after the bit that goes to charity. Me and the wife do that.

I loathe hoovering.  Washing up, ironing, weeding, not fun but OK.  But however much you hoover, there is always a bit of dust left when you have lugged the beastly machine back to its den.

When I bought our hoover many years ago in John Lewis I asked advice from a woman there.  She asks "Will you be doing the hoovering, or your wife?"  In the days before civil partnerships I did not bother to correct her.*  I asked her what difference it would make.  She would recommend a lighter machine if a woman was going to use it.  I thought, but did not say, "Listen, darling, I don't want it for weight training, I want it for sucking up muck."

* A withering reply would have been "The under parlourmaid on the footman's day off."

Gender and sexuality stereotyping aside, what I find odd is the assumption that it's always the same person who's doing that particular chore, which isn't the case round here, though I do try to get out of it as often as possible, for reasons eloquently voiced by Don B.

I've never really understood why some people think ironing is necessary at all. <provocative smirk in Milly's direction>

Well, when being taught the correct way to press shirt and trousers during basic training in HMF, I was advised that the most important reason for ironing was to kill off body parasites which might be lodged in the fabric.

Also loathe cleaning windows.  The smudge is always on the other side of the glass.

I find ironing rather soothing.  And I like a crispish shirt.