A day without water...or trains

There was a printed slip in the letter box a couple of days ago, an official slip. It was from the people who are responsible for our water supply. There will be no water between 9am and 6pm they tell us. At present it is 7:40am. I have had a shower and done a load of washing. So far it has been a "normal" day. 

I am nevertheless glad there are multiple rainwater tanks on the property. It was one of the first things the Senior Cat did after building the house in 1984.  One of our then neighbours looked askance as the tanks were delivered and then fitted to various collection points. 

"What," he demanded to know, "Do you need all that for?" 

The Senior Cat smiled and just said, "The garden."  It was for more than that though. It was for just such situations as today. There will be water if anyone needs it. That is unlikely. The old neighbour has long gone but the new neighbours all took the advice of the Senior Cat. They have added rainwater tanks to their properties. It makes sense in a hot, dry climate where houses are built on "Bay of Biscay" type soil.  Gardens are important here - or at least some greenery around the house. It keeps the soil stable and prevents houses from cracking - or at least cracking to the point of needing repair. Not all the older houses have been as fortunate as we have. 

In summers past we would take the "grey water" out and pour it on the lawn. I have stopped doing that now. It was very hard work and my rear paws are not as mobile as they once were. As I am the only person here the rain water does the job for the most part. My neighbours on one side have an elaborate (and expensive) sprinkler system which is supposed to save water. I have no desire for any such thing. It seems to me J...is forever needing to fiddle with the box that controls it. I have a system too. It consists of two hoses. One of those hoses is connected to the biggest tank. The biggest tank is currently almost full because we had some unexpected heavy showers recently.

But, water supply or not, I was planning on going out to do a number of things today...and now there are no trains. I don't get far unless there is a train - on which I can take the trike. I rearranged my life and considered a trip to the library (where there will be water) and muttered something to Middle Cat. Her response was, "We should have a day out. I have to take the clock to be repaired and the only person who knows about such things is in T.... It would make a nice trip. We can get some lunch at the bakery there."

The bakery is well known. A trip to T... sounds good. I can sit and knit while Middle Cat drives and we can have something "wicked" at the bakery for lunch. Maybe we should have days without water (and trains) more often.