Razorbill
Oh dear. Another day and another stack of projects piling up. Big news of the day is that we are having a man out to look at reasons for the non-functioning nature of our gas boiler. So far he has quoted us £99 for the call out and first hour, and arranged an appointment for 10.00 this morning. It’s 11.32 and he has not, so far, shown up or rung to tell us he is going to be late. This is not the 5 Star service promised by the feedback on his site.
This house hates me.
Puffins at Bempton
Last night we were cold. There’s a nasty cold wind about and we have no supplementary heating unless we turn the oven on. The gas fire is a mystery and we couldn’t even start to guess how to use it and we had nothing else apart from candles and hot water bottles.
I say “had” because I ordered a heater last night and it arrived this morning. I’m hoping we won’t need it, but I’d rather waste money on a heater we don’t need than freeze.
Anyway, even if the gas man turns up, there’s no guarantee he will be able to fix it so why take the risk?
Gannets
Apart from the gas, the bathroom light switch is giving trouble (we have already had two switches replaced) and the lights in the hallway are playing up. There are three different light switches to control them and sometimes hey don’t work. Julia is convinced that there is a loose wire and disaster is imminent. Julia, apart from her talent as a destroyer of electrical equipment (sometimes a single glance will incapacitate an appliance), could also double as Cassandra, if the Ancient Greeks ever need a replacement. Me, I think they have been wired so that they sometimes get out of phase. I’m prepared to be wrong but everything I’ve learned about the builder of this place indicates that shortcuts were taken and he probably didn’t ue the right switches to do the job. Watch this space.
Kittiwakes
Photos are from one of our Bempton trips.
Brilliant birds. Not so brilliant joys of a being a householder. Why can’t life be simple?
Bempton is a wonderful place to photograph birds at the right time of year. 🙂 Though it can smell a touch fishy. A friend of mine once told me that if he won the lottery he was going to move into a hotel for the rest of his life. We looked at flats, but I decided I don’t like people that much.
isn’t there a murder she wrote about bad wiring?
There was one last week where someone was murdered by maliciously rewired electrical tools.
there you go!
The worst ones are the ones set in Ireland and the UK, when many accents are butchered . . . 🙂
I love the Cabot Cove ones. I think they’re funny and charming. when she gets into international espionage I turn it off
Following Tootlepedal’s I’d say the man owes you money
I agree, which was why Julia made me sit in my “office” and brought regular cups of tea. 🙂
Perhaps you could negotiate a reduction in the call out fee commensurate to the amount of time you had to hang about waiting for him. It would be like the delay repay scheme for rail tickets you could point out to him. I’m sure he would see the equity in your suggestion.
I sympathise with your lighting problems we came back from 4 days away to find the lights in the kitchen had mysteriously fused while we were out.
Julia made me sit in my “office” and kept bringing tea to keep me away from him. The fan had gone. Including VAT it cost us £500, but we are warm, even if I do feel I am financing a lavish lifestyle. It could have been worse, I suppose. I was expecting to be told they couldn’t get the parts and we would need a new boiler.
Sorry so much is going wrong! And remember, Cassandra was right.
Yes, Cassandra was always right, a trait she shares with Julia . . . 🙂
I agree with Julia on the lights and wiring. Better safe than sorry!
It will be checked, but I prophesy that the middle switch, whilst fitted safely, is the wrong sort for the installation, so i is safe but inconvenient.