In this age of huge out-of-town superstores, it's comforting that you can still find an old-fashioned hardware shop when you need one. Gill and Co.^1^ — tucked away down a very narrow alleyway in Oxford — is just such a shop. You can go in and ask for a single two inch nail, and know that they will happily sell you one and solemnly wrap it up for you.

We managed to break the plastic doohickeys that fix the toilet seat to the pan, which resulted in an unpleasantly insecure seat. Call me fussy, but I like my toilet seats firmly anchored. I had no idea what those plastic things are officially called, but a brief explanation and and a lot of hand-waving in Gills and they said, "Certainly. Would you like black or white toilet lid fixings?" All is well again in the Bsag bathroom.

^1^ As featured in Inspector Morse, where — if I remember rightly — one of Oxford's many murderers worked. The real employees are lovely, though.