Who would have thought it, in London?!?!

Well, you'd never believe it! While G and J were away in SA we had an infestation of flies in the house for a day or two. At the same time, it seemed to me that something came down the chimney in Nellie's room because I came home to find an inch or so of dust on everything (can you tell I've been in the UK for ages? I'm even starting to think in imperial measures!!). I couldn't smell anything, so thought that maybe it was just a bird that fell down and then managed to fly back out again. After dealing with the flies, which seemed to clear up pretty quickly, I thought no more about it.

This weekend though, the flies returned with a vengeance... and we found yet another 5-10kg of dust deposited in the fireplace grate. I don't know how many we killed in a 24hr period, but it was so many that we just about destroyed the fly swatter and had to resort to buying a fly spray because we couldn't find a replacement on a Sunday! At a guess I'd say we must have killed between 50 and 70 in a 24hr period, maybe more, and probably another 20 or so escaped when we opened the windows on several occasions during the time. I was starting to think that there was no way I would let Nellie sleep in her room because I was convinced that's where they were getting in. Again, I couldn't smell anything, so I really didn't think to check up the chimney at all.

Eventually we decided to try to block up the chimney, to stop the flies coming down. When the dust just kept pouring down, and I could hear things shifting in the chimney, I decided I had better get a torch and try to have a look-see. Nearly got the fright of my life! What did I see? Wait for it - a dead crow! And all within arm's reach. Oddly, it didn't smell half as bad as I would have expected carrion to smell. Then again, maybe it was high up in the chimney initially, and got dislodged this weekend - that might explain both the lack of smell and the lack of flies in between the two dust events....

Anyway, thank God it's out and Nellie (and G and me) can now sleep in a fly-free zone! Flies are definitely NOT something that one would associate with the UK. Africa, yes, and lots of them! But not the UK - not unless you're actually on a livestock farm... which we aren't (even though the house does resemble a zoo or a pig's sty once Nellie's been playing!)