D Day

As you know D Day for the installation of our woodburner was next Monday. Well now it isn't. We had a phone call on Wednesday from the artisan to say his "mate" could not make that day so it would have to be postponed - we trust that postponed is the operative word and not cancelled. We have every faith!!

D Day also stands for Daft Day, that was yesterday. We may have mentioned that our hot water tank has been leaking for some months. In November we called in a plumber who said that the simplest/cheapest solution was to install a new tank as the existing one had the central heating boiler literally sitting on top of it . He said that he was unlikely to be able to fit it before Christmas but would let us know when he was coming.

We had not had a good night on Wednesday  so were not rushing around yesterday morning, in fact at 8.20 when the plumber rang John was in his dressing gown eating his breakfast and I was just rolling out of bed. The plumber said could he bring the tank so John said " OK when will you be coming" to which he replied 9 o'clock. Well now you have to imagine one of those speeded up films where the people rush around like lunatics, that's us. We  threw on our clothes and started to empty the boiler room. We are often told that our house is uncluttered well that's because all the rubbish is in the boiler room. I was just about laying the last dust sheet when they arrived. The owner of the plumbing company can best be described as a dithering Uriah Heap and with a great flourish he introduced Patrick, whom he described as "Le chef de Chantier", the foreman. So we imagined that a full team would be arriving soon, no, Patrick was the work force.

When Uriah came originally he said that the tank would fit between the freezers and the fuse box, lots of measuring was done, fine. Guess what, it didn't and I was not pleased. The tank is getting on for 2 metres tall and about 70cm radius so Patrick and Uriah kept picking it up and running around with it trying it in different places. Despite my annoyance I was having to try and control my giggles because they looked exactly like Laurel and Hardy. Eventually Patrick was left to do the pipework and we collapsed.

Before all this trauma we had planned to go shopping as the dog had run out of heart pills and more importantly he had run out of dog treats - total calamity. Actually it was quite distressing to see Yoda during the day, he sat in the hall shaking looking terrified that his world was going to be turned upside down yet again.

So when Patrick left at about 5.30 we were obliged to go shopping, John in his painting trousers and me only marginally more presentable. We were laughing on the way home as we realised we had still not had a wash and could imagine that people in the supermarket were saying "did you see that smelly old couple who must smoke 40 a day doing all that coughing and spluttering".

Before Patrick left John inquired when he would be returning - not Friday, he doesn't work Fridays, but Monday. "What time?" "Oo-er 9 - 9.30". No wonder American firms do not want to invest in France.

We trust the saga of the  installation of the hot water tank does not continue in the same vein.