The next best thing to a heartwarming story to start the New Year, is having a good old clear out of drawers and cupboards. And so with that in mind I’ve spent the last few days delving into the darkest recesses of sideboards, kitchen cupboards and the like. Let’s face it I’m hardly going to do any gardening, it’s been blowing a gale here.

It’s funny how you accumulate ‘stuff’ over the years, and I’ve certainly come upon things I’d forgotten I had, or in some cases didn’t even know I had, or indeed some I wondered why I had.

During one particular sortie into a particularly inaccessible secret hidey-hole, I came upon a pile of papers and photographs that had belonged to Peter’s granny. A sweet old lady who died probably 20 years ago.

At the end of 1989 we had helped her to move from Lincolnshire to a Residential Care Home in Halifax, where we were living at the time. Amongst these papers I found the bill from the removal company.

Now Peter thinks he’s clever, so I like to try and catch him out if I can. I must admit he certainly has an exceptional memory for dates and numbers, so I don’t catch him out that often, but surely this removal bill, which hadn’t seen the light of day in 20+ years, would be a test too far.

“Guess how much it cost to remove your granny from Barton to Halifax in 1989?” I quipped eagerly. He thought about it for a few moments and then said “£180”. I could not believe my ears, he had guessed exactly the right amount!

How does he do that??