On this Quattro Stagioni - a day of all seasons with sun, wind, rain and hail - I helped local resident get her Hoover back in action

"Sally" (not real name) was among the first to move in this development far from Finsbury Park in 1980. She provided a warm welcome on a windy day and showed me the classic Hoover (actual brand name Hoover!) that she'd been given from a friend.

It looked as old as me and was indeed made in the 80s

We did comment that it was probably built to last unlike newer models.

First step didn't take long: affixing the dust bag with a satisfying slide and click. Then the hose should also have been a simple poke, twist and click but Sally showed be a bag of all sorts. I tried various combinations but had a strong suspicion we didn't have the right parts as it shouldn't be complicated. I even use the wonders of YouTube to show us both it was quite a simple model and set up process.

Much of this hour or so was chatting about all sorts (local area, politics, hospitals, Covid...) but I did try to tease out whether her friend was the type to improvise rather than dispose. The pieces did connect the hose to the dust bag and would work, but was not as neat or held as fast as the original hose.

Sally was grateful for the visit and help and hopes to give the Hoover a go after I left. I then went for a short walk before a longer run to find a delicious nata and coffee