Let’s do this together

I started writing this on my phone yesterday morning as I couldn’t quite remember where I’d left my laptop at home before going to walk The Wall.

While I rushed around at 6am that morning, trying to squeeze The Dark Lord and her extreme sulk in the car to drive up to Carlisle, I’d put my computer in a very safe place, so safe, even I couldn’t find it.

Turns out trekking a squillion miles is the perfect break from your brain, which I seem to have left somewhere between Hexham and Heddon.

If you see it, approach with caution – like an unexploded bomb, it’s liable to go off at any time if it hears the grumble: “I didn’t ask to go to bloody Hadrian’s Wall” one more time.

I’ve got form for doing this sort of thing before I go on holiday. About eight years ago, I was packing for two weeks in France (back when it didn’t involve a new passport, 14 PCR tests and a solemn oath to learn all the words to La Marseillaise), and decided to put my wedding and engagement rings in a small box in a very safe place.

I never did find them. I searched for years and years, and finally had to accept that they’d gone to the big down-the-back-of-the-sofa in the sky.

Then two years ago, I found myself accidentally clearing out the shed. (I’d never do that sort of thing on purpose – but probably found myself trapped by low-hanging boxes full of life’s detritus, and had to dig my way out).

As I tipped out the contents of one old wooden box where I kept the iron and its associated gubbins, a little pink box fell out. I jumped for joy, although carefully so as not to create a landslide.

Clearly I hadn’t done any ironing in eight years, which is why I hadn’t found my missing rings.

Back to my post-Hadrian’s empty brain, I tried to re-download everything that was in it before I went away. I searched all the last places I would visit, like the dirty washing basket, the bins and even the fridge.

Then, as I got halfway through this piece, I felt a bit chilly and went upstairs for a jumper. Running upstairs, I pulled the box of winter clothes out from under my bed, and there it was, wrapped inside my favourite blue sweater.

If we had normal summer weather, I might not have found it till autumn, but happily, this is the UK, and it’s always jumper weather.

Many thanks to all of you who donated online and sent cheques in the post.

We’ve raised a total of £3,200 for Young Minds so far, so pats on back all round.

Email me at siobhan.mcnally@mirror.co.uk or write to Community Corner, PO Box 791, Winchester SO23 3RP.