My afternoon meeting at the Town Hall was as dull as ever. At least they served real coffee; it was about the only thing that kept me awake. The heating was on full blast, but apart from opening a window, the level of heat couldn’t be regulated. The heating system in this example of municipal Victorian splendour was very inefficient. While we roasted, other rooms were cold and the workers there had to plug in electric fires.
The meeting finally ground to a close; I don’t think I uttered a single word during the whole thing. It was only 3 P.M.; it wasn’t worth going back to the library only to have to come back this way for the solicitors. I’d made a 4 P.M. appointment to see Mr Anderson about Fred’s will. So, although I felt a bit uncomfortable about shopping during work time, I picked u
