A wonderful tale of misfortune from Colin Chapman's blog, which is an eye-watering combination of disaster and pointless religious tat.

The past came crashing down yesterday morning - literally - when our breakfast was interrupted as one of the steel shelves in our kitchen came off the wall bringing with it my terracotta-ware collected over 15 years in Spain and Portugal, smashing the whole lot to bits. We were left with a heap of broken pots, glass, plants and soil, and Argentine red wine seeping into the whole lot. I could live with the broken pots but the worst casualty was my religious icon of Jesus purchased 10 years ago in Barcelona which has real glass eyes. Alas, the baby in Jesus's arms lost his face (but not the eyes) during the fall. The icon will have to go as the baby now looks like some kind of faceless alien with staring eyes. Is this an omen??

Coleen's blog

A day after Nina & Matthew completed on the house, the washing machine has started leaking.

It's a delicate matter, but they mustn't get in a spin about it.