The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.

Caroline the new cleaning lady is very thorough. Every Tuesday and Thursday she toils away on the first floor thoroughly cleaning the 'snug ', the master bedroom, the summer kitchen and the drawing room. She also, despite the presence of two dishwashers, washes the dishes. This routine is repeated, without change, on each visit. The net result is that while parts of the house sparkle other parts are ignored. The whole of  downstairs and much of upstairs being quite simply forgotten. ' The font ' suggests that she might want to do upstairs on a Tuesday and downstairs on a Thursday. '' You should reflect on that " comes the determined reply. Angus foresees a collision between French and Swedish logic.

The lady who sells ducks and geese at the local market says the only way to cook a duck is pop it into an oven at 170 degrees for an hour and forty minutes. " No need for any preparation; just baste every ten or fifteen minutes while it's cooking ". This simple, although labour intensive, approach seems to work. The duck fat free and as tender as a chicken. While it's cooking Bob and Sophie steadfastly refuse to move from the downstairs kitchen. Bob is now 23 kilos. Sophie, appetite fully restored is back up to 20.