That ring of fire

No, nothing to do with curries! We've both been suffering from achy backs recently, which is liveable with until they start to give the occasional twinge of reminder when you do something strenuous - such as put down a cup of tea. Yesterday Ned got just such a reminder so at bedtime he searched out the lavender wheaty-bang thing I made some time ago and nuked it up good and hot to lie on in bed, rather than risk popping a hot-water bottle and scalding his back as well as soaking the mattress. All was well and the heat started to seep into the muscles and relax them and we both dozed; until he suddenly squealed. In response to my tired-yet-caring "Wassup?" he deposited a handful of redhot grains of wheat onto my tummy - the cover had split.

A tip to anyone who may find themselves in this situation: do not react to your belly being burned to a frazzle by sitting up - gravity means that all the scorching particles descend to one's nethers ... now that's a real emergency.