Quandary

Wilson is in a terrible quandary… of his own making. He promised the bees that they could guest blog on the first of each month — which is tomorrow — without realising that tomorrow would also be National Ant Day! 

Usually the blog on N.A.Day is all about Wilson triumphing in adversity by eventually catching the first ant of the year and being crowned Ant King of Uckfield. On the other hand, a promise is a promise.

He's spent all morning discussing his dilemma with Antony (and TT, for what that's worth!) and has finally come to a decision.

He called me and the bees into the living room and announced, 'Tomorrow, the bees may blog. It's the right and honourable thing to do. Also, they promised me a bit of their recipe, and said they'd mention National Ant Day.'

Well that's a relief!

Two tribes go to war...

I'm afraid yesterday's disagreement has led to a bit of a standoff, and no-one is ready to blink first!

When I came downstairs this morning I found two notes magnetted to the fridge, one from each party. 

The bees seem to have enlisted Uncle Zoltan to help with typing their note (he has greater mastery of capital letters and punctuation, and his own typewriter) and they have put together a cogent list of reasons why they should be allowed to Blog on Sunday. Wilson's note, however, is more of a plaintive, anguished cry from the heart…

While I can see both sides' point of view, I'm keeping well out of this dispute — I just hope it doesn't delay the redecorating.

Scheduling clash

You probably recall me passing on the bees' reminder that you should be sure to have some honey ready for the recipe they're going to share with you in their Guest Blog on Sunday.

Wilson hadn't realised that the first Sunday in March — which is National Ant Day — fell on the 1st of the month — which is the day of the bees' guest blog!

National Ant Day is an important occasion in the calendar of all anteaters, since it's the day in which they head out to see who can catch the First Ant of the Year and be crowned 'Ant King' — an honour which Wilson has held for the last several years.

The bees, however, maintain that the 1st of the month is their Blogging Day and they've been planning it for a long time.

Work begins

Today Wilson started on painting the hall. He's making a nice job of the walls, but he's quite a messy worker…

Later I heard him complaining to Antony that decorating is not only much harder than he'd expected, it also takes a lot longer. I told him to keep his eye on the prize — a lovely holiday in Norfolk!

Before I forget, Billi and Polly have asked me to remind you to have some good quality honey ready for their Guest Blog on Sunday, when they're going to show you how to cook a traditional bee recipe!

A question of colour

Wilson thought he'd be allowed to choose the colour for the hall, but I drew the line at Sun Yellow or Sorrento Blue ('It'll be lovely and bright!') and insisted on Double Date. 

'What? That's not even a real colour!' he complained. 

But I was adamant. 

And I do hold all the cards, holiday-wise!

Compromise

Okay, we all know that there'll be a lot of negotiating and bargaining about where we go for the holiday we can't really afford, then I'll eventually give in because it seems churlish to keep refusing. 

So I have decided to take a proactive stance: I've told Wilson that we will go on holiday. To Norfolk (England). As long as he helps me redecorate the hall first.

I'd expected further haggling, but W accepted my offer immediately and insisted that we go directly to the DIY Warehouse to buy the paint! 

Now I'm left wondering whether I should have driven a harder bargain...

Ideal holiday destination

Wilson has been working his way through the booklets he picked up at the Travel Agent yesterday, drawing up a shortlist of places he'd like to go on holiday.

Over coffee he showed me the list: at the top is millionaires' playground Kamalame Cay, a private island in The Bahamas, and at the bottom, Norfolk. 

I'm pretty sure this is just a bargaining position, like when he asked me for a pet pony when what he really wanted was a goldfish.

Oh. Unless he means Norfolk in Virginia!