Night shift

I once worked with a woman who liked to polish her brass and silver late at night. I thought she was mad - wasn't that way past working time? Didn't she need to sleep? Over the years, I would think of her and wonder.

Last night I was working on my laptop (yes, really, not just Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and blog). Coffee called and while I was waiting for the water, not the kettle, to boil, I noticed that the taps could do with a bit of a shine. I still had my reading glasses on and suddenly it all became clear! Without them, my astigmatism takes care of the finer points of cleaning. I grabbed a scourer and began scrubbing. Then I did the edges of the sink, progressed to the drying rack (even underneath), the fruit bowl, my beautiful china chicken that I keep eggs in (where else?), the top of the fridge, the microwave - and then I saw the time - 10.30pm.

Suddenly I could identify with my long-ago friend. This is the time for housework. Dinner is a thing of the past, everyone has gone to bed, there's no background noise. It's not as if I need the sleep. We've got it all wrong. Daylight shouldn't be wasted on housework. That's when you walk on the beach, potter in the garden or just sit in the shade of a milkwood tree with a good book. Work inside when it's dark.

But I'd better hold back on the vacuuming for now!