Chomping

It was another day of battleship grey cloud. Except for the first half hour or so after sunrise. The sun was illuminating the cloud from below, and the bright cloud gave the backdrop that silhouetted the grazing horse in Redhills Pasture, with the sweeping branches of the larch beyond.

It's too early after the PM programme on Radio 4 this afternoon for there to be a link, but the programme played out with the calming sound of a chomping horse, giving my day an unusual symmetry.

After yesterday's blip was posted, I found another brown envelope had been delivered from the tax man (or woman). This one was a pronouncement on the appeal I had lodged against the fines that had been imposed on my father for late submission of his tax returns. My poor Dad was too unwell in 2011 to do a tax return, and has been on a slow recovery curve ever since. No way does he have the wherewithal to look after his tax affairs any more. Until last year, I had no idea he was even expected to submit a return. Then we found the huge numbers of unopened letters from HMRC announcing more and more eye-watering fines.

It was good news, the appeal has been accepted and all the fines will be repaid. A high to end the day on, it had taken me many days over three visits to my Dad 280 miles away to sort all the paperwork and put the returns together, so it was a huge relief to receive a sympathetic response. That said, I came home tonight to another brown envelope, this one said how much was being repaid, and it is a lot less than has been paid to them. Yet more work to do to get to the bottom of that anomaly.

But not tonight. Last Friday I treated myself to a Blonde Witch, tonight I'm Cocker Hooping.