Favourite birthday activity, breakfast of double chocolate cake covered and festooned with marshmallows and lashings and lashings of double cream. With sadness and regret the bakers have all gone on strike. Something about more pay. Porridge with a teaspoon of honey would suffice. Mental note to self, send donation of birthday funds to help relieve workers plight during this difficult time of year. Yes. Perhaps a poster to cheer them up. The one on the behind of the door with the picture of the cat who has just farted. Hilarious. That would work.

Mary wished her mother was here to share the joke but she’d left for work, her weekend job, about two hours ago if Mary’s calculations were correct and wouldn’t be back for four, five, move to other hand, six, seven, eight hours yet.