It was only as the bed started to come to shape did Ms E's daughter comment that it seemed very low (due to having very short legs...), and would be unsuitable for her 90 year old mother to sleep in, simply because she wouldn't be able to get in and out of bed!

I'd opened the box to find a very neat arrangement where all the parts for the bed were zipped into the headboard - so with the news, weather and then an interesting crime thriller on the nearby tv as background entertainment I got to work. The parts all seemed to come together ok, but it was only when I attached the footboard and headboard to the frame was it apparent just how low the bed would be to the floor - not quite a futon, but not far off!

At this point Ms E called her mother's social worker to say the bed wouldn't work for her elderly mother, and that they'd probably have to find an alternative for her.

I agreed to dismantle the frame (or as much as I could without damaging any of the now attached fittings), and stack them neatly back in the packing box. Ms E's daughter asked if I could get them back into the headboard, as it was possible the bed could be used by someone else, so it would be nice to have it back in its original box. I was reluctant to remove the screwed in fittings, but agreed it was worth a try.

By some miracle, all the parts did fit, and with a ziplock bag to contain the remaining loose nuts and bolts, we soon had it back in the original cardboard box, ready to be taken away. Ms E's daughter will continue her quest to find a suitably tall bed for her mother to return home to.

After last week's failure to find shallots for Mr R, I was determined not to return empty handed this week. Tesco's shelves weren't stocking them, but his local greengrocer had both the round and elongated versions, so I was faced with a choice on which to get - I went with round, but next time I'll know it's the longer variety (easier to chop...) which gets his vote.