The Dog and The Prehistoric Chocolates.

The out of date chocolates and the dog.

23/10/13

Last November it was Imelda's birthday and I bought him a large box of Thornton chocolates which he could enjoy while sitting down with his feet up and a nice cup of tea. The chocolates were dated best before end May 2013.

The chocolates were placed on top of the mountain of junk in the front room where they remained until last week. Two days ago the dog 'found' the chocolates.  He discovered them while Imelda was out and helped himself to a few.  Poor dog had probably been eyeing them up for months.  Imelda got home and the chocs were all over the place and half eaten, and no doubt licked by the dog.  Did Imelda throw the remaining brown squidgy mess out?

NO.  He ate them!   EEEeeeeewwwwww.  I pointed out this was possibly not the best idea and went to put the remainder in the bin.  Imelda replied that the box said 'best before' not 'eat by' and this just meant they were not at their best after this date.  Imelda put them to one side for later. 

This is another example of the issues we have.  The things I would consider to be absolute and total bin fodder are treasures to him.

Today was the pre-assessment prior to the big clear out tomorrow.  The film crew came round to get a few 'before' shots.  Tomorrow is the big clear out day.  They will be clearing out the main living room, putting everything in boxes and removing it overnight to secure storage.  When the stuff is out we will see the room for what it is.  Hopefully the night he has in the clear room will get him to realise how much space he could have for free.  He already has the room which is huge, he is not able to use it though due to all the junk.

Today in the living room we found:

8 televisions (box type) only one was in working order

5 yellow pages directories

7 cheap nasty Lidl watches - still in wraps

a nasty plastic skipping rope,

A T-shirt - new and wrapped for a two year old

5 chains for chain saws - new and still boxed

A very old picture of my grandfather in a very old glass frame

A sofa

A half full bottle of Cointreau all sticky and leaking and a new bottle of unopened and sealed whiskey

A bottle of vodka - new and unopened

An old toaster with no plug - Imelda reasoned he liked to keep a spare toaster at all times.  I reminded him he had two spares in the other room and this one was clearly broken with no plug.  He said it would not take much to repair it.  I pointed out a toaster cost about £10 these days.  He said it was about £15.  I said even if it was £15, it would be cheaper to replace it than locate, buy and pay for postage on a spare part.  I doubted he would be able to find a spare part anyway especially as he does not have internet access.  He put the toaster back on the pile.  

About three boxes of after eight mints dated 2002 - again Imelda, convinced 'best before' means 'edible for up to fifteen years after', wanted to keep them.

The company who will be clearing have not seen the house yet.  I will watch their faces with interest in the morning.

We went through a few things which will be moved tomorrow.  I am hopeful we will be able to throw some items out such as empty boxes and empty bags, packets and tins.  The plan is we take most of the stuff out and only 2/3 will come back in as we can sort and throw as we go.

I will rely on Cardiff City Council to provide me with a few green recycling bags.  We will use a fair few rolls.  My car is ready to go with a dust sheet in the boot.

May the force with with us!