It Could be Sunday

Today might have been Sunday. Or it could have equally been Wednesday or Monday. The days of the week have lost their significance to us. Without the normal routine, punctuated by bike rides, table tennis matches, visits to the kids and the like, every day is just about the same as every other day. This seems especially true when the weather is grey. Even the sky seems to lose its clarity.

So how did we spend the last 24 hours ? It's already becoming a little foggy in my memory, but I think we started with breakfast. Maggie then set off with her sister for an early morning walk with their two dogs. I read a couple of gripping short stories and then went back to fiddling with my locks. It was at that point when a type of disaster took place.

One of my locks is called a "cruciform lock" because its key way actually consists of 4 separate channels, each alligned at 90 degrees to each other. Although this type of lock is common in Europe, they are relatively rare here. The main advantage of such a lock is that they are quite difficult to pick. The challenge lies in picking all four channels at the same time.

A few days ago I achieved a personal milestone when I managed to pick the cruciform lock, not once, but twice. I was quite chuffed. Unfortunately when I returned to have another go at the lock today, I discovered that one of the pins was stuck. It resisted everything I could to do get it freed up. I decided to disassemble the lock. Stupid move.

As soon as I removed the retaining circlip from the rear of the barrel, the barrel slid out of the body and miniature pins, springs and ball bearings went flying to the four corners of the earth. I spent the next 30 minutes on my knees, trying to collect as many bits as I could. Of course it was a waste of time. That lock is now definitely an "ex lock". The sad collection of remnants now resides in a small pill jar. Maybe I learnt something from the exercise.

The day was too drizzly for an enjoyable ride, but we did pack our thermos and drive to the ocean for a nice picnic overlooking Bass Straight. It might have been Sunday, but it certainly wasn't a sunny day.Read more