I'm with the Rats, I don't like Mondays

What is it about Monday mornings. Chaos reigns, even if we go to bed wholly organised on Sunday night. Who comes in during the night and just messes up the order that we've created. I favour the boggart premise. Certainly Daisy had a boggart on her shoulder today (Guiding reference - too wierd to explain if you weren't a Guide). She refused to get in the bath, refused to have breakfast, refused to get dressed, and as for brushing her hair, well, I got 'Mummy you crush-ed my heart'. Thanks Tracy Beaker for that one. Oh well at least she went to the car happy as Daddy was taking them and not horrid Mummy.

And now to a bit of a rant - bins outside today. Our fortnightly general waste collection. I'm all in favour of it, with a family of 5 kids, including a couple in nappies, I reckon that most people ought to be able to manage with the fortnightly collections, now we have a green waste and a plastic and cardboard bin, as well as glass, cans and paper in separate boxes. But I did blow my top two weeks ago when the bin men refused to take the bin, because although not full, it was 'too heavy'. Well guys, welcome to my world. I'd lugged the sodding thing from the back of the garage to the front of the house - approximately 20 times as far as they were required to wheel it to the lorry. So we had a little label asking us to 'empty some waste' before next collection. Right. Where exactly? I only put stuff in the bin which is domestic and not recyclable in any form. All large waste goes to the tip - Winterton North Street which by the way is the nicest, friendliest and cleanest tip and everything there is recycled as much as possible. Anyway I dutifully called up and asked if they would accept a black sack as well as the general waste bin as they refused to empty it this time, and even if I empty some of it (maggots and all) into black sacks and take to the tip, I would probably fill it to the top with nearly a month's worth of waste. Oh nonononono said the voice on the end of the phone, sounding remarkably like the Churchill dog, with a similarly extended vocabulary. So we raised a complaint. And the outcome - a standard letter basically saying 'Oh nononononononono'. So we're just hoping the bin men take it today. Or the bin wars of two years ago in Scunthorpe will have nothing on me.

Top tip of the day: Febreze Cotton Fresh Air Conditioner. Very nice, and worth paying the extra, especially if you have small kids, animals, husbands, trainers, all of whom seem to delight in filling every room with a lingering reminder of them..

Lastly glad to see we've selected our 30th PPC in Y&H - Howard Keal. Now I know it's spelt differently, but I couldn't resist a burst of 'Oh what a beautiful morning'. Well done Howard in Thirsk and Malton, and good luck. Well done to the Regional Candidates Chair, Stephen Fenton, for facilitating this.