kill your babies, pets and mouth bacteria, hoover up your dust bunnies and trample your rose beds, hell grab a bazooka and blast the lot away

You may already have inferred that this is not going to be a happy post.

When asked if the glass is half-empty or half-full, I often like to call myself a ‘magical realist’ and a ‘laissez-faire optimist’. But today I have been facing my nemesis: capital-r reality sans flippancy. (But still with poncey French loan words.)

Much as I hate to admit defeat, I know that I’m going to have to accept defeat as the right decision. Yes, yet another of my projects is going up in flames. But I hope to find some phoenix eggs hatching from the ashes. Maybe these chicks will grow up to be greater than their parent? Who knows – all I can do is nurture them and find out.

Never give up, but know when to adapt.