Old Habits Die Hard

I just flipped open my mobile phone to make a call, and found myself holding it up to my ear to check for a dial tone. Um, no...

Replace the handle, and the blade...

After half a dozen years holding on to my late father's viola, wondering how and where and if and how expensively it could be restored to a playable condition, I did a little research and found The Violin Workshop not a mile from my house. They make and repair violins/violas/cellos, and do courses where you can make your own!

They gave my viola a good look-over, and reckon I'll need new strings, pegs and their holes reamed, adjusters fitted, possibly a new bridge, new end button, clean and fill a hairline crack, reset the sound post, pull off the thingie from the top of the fingerboard and do something with it, possibly replace the fingerboard if I play a lot and wear it down, new bow (mine has bow bug), and new case....

Learning curve

I'm checking through my new contents insurance policy. Frozen food is covered, normally up to a maximum of £500 but I have £1000! However, the first £100 of a claim is not covered, and I don't think I can fit £100 of food in the freezer.

Also, the policy won't pay for computer equipment unless listed. They didn't ask me about computer equipment, only about possessions worth more than £1500. There might be a telephone call in my future. In the meantime, please come and steal my computer