CRAP week!

This week has gone like the speed of light. I said on Monday that I was in for some hard graft and here we are, nearly at the week’s end and I am physically & mentally exhausted. Phil arrived safely in Somerset and was tucked up in bed very early on Monday evening; the early start and the long drive had done him in. He seems to be getting on okay with his contract and plucked up the courage on Tuesday to ask his line manager if he could work a 4 day week. I think he has got some balls, with this only his second week into a 3 month contract, but if anyone can get away with this request, it will be Phil!

On Monday I went to sign on with an agency. I am perhaps being a little premature with all the work in the flat to do, but I thought I had better start the ball rolling. The lady I saw was very nice to me and I came away feeling positive. This didn’t last long though; I took the agency word, excel and typing tests and failed miserably on the first two. When I say I failed, I got 60% in the excel test and 70% in word which surprised me because only a couple of weeks ago I scored 92% in the ECDL word exam. Maybe I can get away with the word test but I would imagine that excel is almost certainly a fail. The typing speed was good though, my score was 78 wpm which is not half bad. Probably so fast because all the practice I get typing up the blog! I emailed the agency asking about my predicament but I haven’t heard back, which is not promising. No news is good news. Hey ho………………!

On Monday afternoon I got two coats of white emulsion on the kitchen walls, which before were a sea -blue colour. It wasn’t pleasant, as it was cold, damp and miserable, even with the little heater, but I did feel that I had achieved something. I spent lots of time answering my mobile on Monday evening, but still managed to catch 2 episodes of Coronation Street and was in bed by 9pm. I slept well until the alarm went off at 4.30am because I had forgotten to switch it off after Phil left on the Monday morning. I got up and made a cup of tea but then felt a bit weary so went to back to bed. I tossed and turned and started to feel really bad. I got up quickly just making it to the bathroom to be violently sick and there I stayed for a couple of hours; shits as well as the sick, not a good start to the day. After my morning phone in with Phil, I eventually made it to the flat for 9.30am. Luckily David the plumber had a key and was already there, ripping out the bathroom. He did a good job and had everything taken out by 11.00am. Having a dodgy tummy with no access to a loo isn’t the best scenario but luckily things calmed down throughout the morning and I lasted until I could get home for lunch.

After lunch and phoning Phil with my update on the flat, I went to B&Q for a 1pm appointment with the kitchen designer. He did his stuff in CAD using Phil’s excellent printouts and told me the kitchen would cost in the region of 800 quid. I thought this was very expensive, seeing as we had a half price discount offer and were re-using all the existing base units. I didn’t order in the end and decided to wait until Phil gets home. I had roughly estimated costs at around £400 so something is definitely wrong somewhere. I went back to the flat afterwards and started ripping the tiles off the bathroom walls. Now this is a job I love; all you need is a hammer and a chisel and it’s a great feeling seeing the tiles fall and crash to the floor. I am a bit naughty because I don’t wear any eye protection and could seriously damage my eyes should a shred of glass hit me but I try to hammer the end of chisel and look away dodging the falling tiles at the same time. Who needs health and safety when you work for yourself?

There is still much to be done and what I’ve done so far doesn’t seem to penetrate the surface. I said to David, that it’s as if things have to get worse until they can get better, and he agreed. Still, the council have been and collected all the rubbish and the flat now smells of bleach rather than ‘sweaty men behaving badly’ which is a huge relief and of course, more pleasant on the nose!

On Tuesday night Janet came to pick me up and we went to Christine’s for wine and supper. We had a good catch up and hopefully I didn’t bore them too much with my tales of rife and strife. It’s true, I certainly feel sorry myself at the moment. Janet has a couple of days off to go and nurse her old mum who has just come out of hospital. And Christine whose birthday it was on Wednesday went off to New York on Thursday with her daughters and best friend to celebrate. I hope she enjoys the experience, she certainly deserves some happy times after all the shit that she’s has been through over the last 6 months. With my dodgy stomach I was worried about going out but I am glad I did; with not being at work, it is so easy to isolate myself from the world and hide away in this nuclear shelter – aka kebab flat.

On Wednesday it was back in the kebab flat for a whole day of cleaning. Betty, my crazy neighbour from our Cranfield flat phoned to ask if she could drop at the city centre flat for a coffee and instead ended up volunteering to help out at the Oldbrook flat. I said I couldn’t afford to pay her much but she insisted on helping and actually, she was a great help. She did a far better job on her windows than I did on mine and was worth every penny I have yet to pay her. And actually I was glad of the company. I’m normally up for any challenge but the work we have to do in this flat is overwhelming me, so much so, that without Phil onboard, I’m at a loss of where to start. Bet and me had a good day, she left at 1.30 and I limped home at 4pm, tired but at least feeling that we had achieved something.

Harriet came round after work and I felt bad I hadn’t cooked for her. She brought chips from the kebab shop and we chatted over a can of coke for her and large glasses of wine for me. HH left before 7pm, I had a chat to Phil on the phone and was tucked in bed by 8 o’clock. I slept all through the night, only to be woken by the phone ringing at 6.45am on Thursday morning. It was Phil with some bad news. He had switched on his mobile when he woke up to find 2 messages on his answer-phone from Jill, the lady who lives beneath our Oldbrook flat, to say she had water pouring from our flat into her wardrobe. I phoned her straight away; she was in a right state and quite rightly so, because she was flying off to Vietnam on holiday and had to leave that morning by 7.30pm. I cleaned my teeth, swilled my face, pulled on some clothes and dashed round. When I arrived, I saw that Jill had a dustbin in her wardrobe collecting the drips and things didn’t look good. I dashed up to our flat and turned off the water at the mains. Funny thing was, though, I couldn’t see any leaks in our flat. I went back down to Jill and assured her I would get my plumber on the job straight away. We swapped numbers and I wished her ‘Bon Voyage’ and away she went.

I went to phone my plumber only to find that I’d left my mobile at home so went up to the neighbour Aiden across the way. It was okay because Aiden is also our tenant and I could see he was up, because he was waving goodbye to his girlfriend and I also knew he worked nights. Apparently Jill had knocked on his door to ask for Phil’s number at some unearthly hour of the morning but fortunately, Aiden had just got back from work so he was up and about. I apologised for the intrusion and must remember to take him some beers round as a ‘thank you’.

Anyway, Jill said that her friend’s husband who was a plumber was coming round at 8am so I made myself a cup of tea with the water still left in the kettle from the day before and started painting a second coat on the lounge walls. Phil phoned me at 10.00am for a chat and said he wasn’t too sure whether the viewing on the kebab flat was 10.30am or 3.30pm. Realising that I had left the kebab flat in a right state I had to make dash home to make the bed and wash up and then get right back to Oldbrook just in case Jill’s plumber or my plumber turned up. David arrived just after 11.00am; he made a quick inspection and diagnosed the leak into Jill’s was caused by a loose fitting on the stop-cock. He promptly fixed it, assured me all was fine and went on his merry way. I got on with the painting but around 3pm I phoned Jill’s friend to see when her husband the plumber was actually coming. Although David was sure he had fixed the problem, I wanted to be sure that water still wasn’t leaking into Jill’s flat. Jill’s plumber finally arrived at quarter past 4; he was a nice chap but couldn’t find the key that Gill had left. He had a look round our flat and found the stop-cock was still leaking so he tightened that up some more and ripped of the kitchen kick-boards and the lino, only to find a really sodden floor. The plumber (nice chap and sorry don’t know his name) told me to leave a portable heater on all night and to check to see if it was dry the following day. Nightmare!!

As predicted in Monday’s blog, Ray the plasterer let me down just as I though he would. He phoned on Monday night to say that his Margate job had over-run and would it would be okay if he came on Thursday? I said “yeah fine, whatever, see you on Thursday”. True to his word he turned up with son James spot on the dot of 8.30am. Due to the leak I had to explain that I’d had to turn the water off but all would be fine because I had drained off water from the system and we could turn it on, as and when needed. He unloaded his gear, had a cup of tea, then decided he didn’t want to work around the plumber and would start on Friday (today). I wasn’t happy, thinking any excuse and that he just wanted the day off. But what can you do with a reluctant worker? His price is good, he does eventually get the job done and I know him. End of.

And so yesterday was probably the worst day I have had in a long, long time. Last night I got home just before 5, got showered and was in my dressing gown by 5.30pm. I didn’t eat diddley squat all day; 1 bottle of water, 2 cups of tea and some glasses of white wine (didn’t count how many). I have lost 5 pounds in all this week which but is probably down to the fact I just haven’t had the time or the inclination to eat plus I very S T R E S S E D!

Boy, this blog goes on and on. Am I boring you? God knows I bore myself. Today hopefully Ray will turn up to plaster. Jill’s plumber friend will hopefully have made contact and found her front door key and will be able to reassure me that the leaks have stopped. Betty and me will get the upstairs sorted and hopefully I will be able to finish by 3’ish at the flat and get ready for Phil coming home. I need to get the fridge stocked, get clean and maybe do me a facial and a manicure and pedicure. If my husband sees me in my current state, he may decide to stay in sunny Somerset forever. And I tell you, I certainly wouldn’t blame him!! My hands are like sandpaper and I have the ‘builders bum’. I love my life (NOT)!! There’s more to tell of course, but I’ve gone on long enough. More shit no doubt at the weekend, but for now I've got to get to work!

Lyme Regis

Not many words in this one, mainly pictures.
Wednesday I had a drive to Lyme Regis straight from work just in case I’m not here for much longer. Unfortunately it was grey, overcast and drizzly so I should have left it for another night.

The little lane is the way I go to work from my guest house; most of the roads are very small here so it takes forever to travel a small distance. My type of driving is not really suited for here. I took one of work from the car park and a little cottage which is also on my way to work.

All the others are from the sea side where I got fish and chips where they say that they are the best in town. It could well be true as I couldn’t find another one. They had no idea how to make or serve fish and chips English style as they were our overseas cousins. Never mind I will try somewhere else next time.

Lyme Regis is a lovely little town and very quaint with little windy roads, steep hills and lots of fossil shops. I have never seen so many in one place they must have had some remarkable finds in this area. Unfortunately none of the shops were open so I couldn’t have a look around. They all seemed to have plenty of dinosaur fossils in the windows so I guess I would enjoy a snoop around. There are some lovely little cottage style pubs but will wait for Claire to come down before I go in any. She keeps threatening to come down but no sign of her yet. I think she is enjoying renovating the flat too much.

Catch up from Cornwall

Well, it’s not really Cornwall, it’s not even Devon, it’s Somerset but it’s only about 20 miles from Cornwall, 12 miles from the south coast and 5 miles from Devon. I don’t think there is a part of Somerset that is further away from Milton Keynes. Anyway, it’s a bloody long way! And I hate being away from home. Claire and I have been together every day and night, with very few exceptions, for over 10 years now, and the last few months we have been together 24-7 so it’s a real shock to the system. Also I haven’t worked 5 days a week for years now, well not for anyone else other than Claire. I’m not used to it. I was whacked on Friday when I finally got home and by Saturday afternoon after working around the flat was already starting to think about going back to work again early Monday morning. I was real bad company after poor Claire was really looking forward to me coming home. Never really got any chance to relax or recover from the previous week. It will be even worse next weekend as I have my first Open University tutorial in Oxford on Saturday and I have to lay the tiles in the bathroom over the weekend. I had better get some sleep while I am here this week as I won’t have time when I get home.

You will be pleased to know that I am well on the way to being a proficient Inventor user. I knew it wouldn’t take long as I have used so many other similar programs for years. The hard bit was not using the help as other people could see my screen and would wonder why I needed such basic tutorials or help. After all, I did tell them I could walk straight in and use it otherwise I wouldn’t have been here in the first place. As a contractor, you have to exaggerate or lie a bit; otherwise you would always use the same software and be designing the same stuff all your life. That’s why a lot of the old school didn’t get off the drawing board; they never had the confidence to “have a go”.
Driving down here at 5am on a Monday morning, staying and working all week and then driving back after work on a Friday, in the rush hour, is not going to work long term for me. In fact when I left work on Friday I was full expecting to talk with Claire over the weekend and give my 1 week’s notice this Monday. However, I had 4 hours to think about it on the way home whilst queuing on the M25. If I could get them to agree to me working the same number of hours in 4 days and come home on a Thursday after work, I might just be able to stick it out for a longer term. Especially as I am quite enjoying the work at the moment and we do need the money. I have nothing to lose as the alternative is to give a week’s notice anyway. Of course, waiting for the right moment to make such a suggestion is critical, especially as they don’t really want me anyway. That moment arose on Tuesday, and to my surprise, it went down a lot better than I expected. My boss has to ask his boss and will get back to me this week. Only trouble is that his boss is the one that doesn’t like me and everyone seems afraid of. Not sure how long he has been there or how much stick he is getting from above or maybe he is a natural but I should find out in time.

Anyway if it comes off I might be here for a while longer and even find time to take some local photos. If I am here for any length of time there are a few things I need to sort out that aren’t working for me. I have no internet connection at work and people that have are too frightened to use it anyway. I can’t get the internet in my room either so the only way I can get online is by taking my laptop downstairs in the lounge or going to Witherspoons. I went to the local Witherspoons on Tuesday after work and was very pleasantly surprised. I had a daily Tuesday special, a 10oz rump steak with a large mushroom, tomato, chips and peas all washed down with a pint of Cools light for £6.10 a real bargain. Shame they don’t do accommodation.

Where did the weekend go?

Phil got home from Somerset just before 7.30pm on Friday evening, both exhausted and hyper after the long drive. He dumped his stuff in the spare room, slipped into his blue pyjamas and was soon lying on the sofa with a glass of wine in his hand. I think he appreciated the bowl of Bombay mix by his side because the bowl was soon emptied. Unfortunately I was in the wide awake club very early on Saturday so Phil didn’t get a lie in. I took my tea back to bed though and we both read for a while before finally getting up.

Of course Phil was itching to go round and see the state of the flat. I think he thought that perhaps I had over exaggerated about the condition of the place but once he stepped inside, he could tell that I had been telling the truth. I finished off cleaning the kitchen cupboards and Phil started on the windows. The windows are so bad that I thought we would have to put in double glazed windows but Phil, ever conscious of the budget, thinks that we can get away with a good scrub, a sanding and a coat of primer & gloss, but I’m not so sure.

The good news is that the kitchen units aren’t as bad as we’d remembered and we going to be able to save the base units. This will save us a lot of time (and money). We finished up around midday and had just walked into the kebab flat when my mobile went. It was Ray, the plasterer, calling to say that he was sitting outside the flat in Oldbrook; he’d popped round on the off-chance that we would be working at the flat so that he could give us a quote. Phil said he’d go and meet him while I prepared the lunch. Ray did all the plastering in our Giffard Park house; he’s a bit of a rough diamond, smokes like a chimney and drinks gallons of white tea with 2 sugars. Phil agreed a price with him and Ray is going to come and Tuesday and re-plaster the kitchen, bathroom, lounge and hall ceilings. Knowing as Ray I do, I suspect he won’t turn up until Wednesday at the earliest and I’ll be very surprised if he manages to get all the work done before the weekend. I don’t mind much though, I hate painting newly plastered ceilings.

After lunch Phil zipped round to Steve & Jan’s to pick up a copy of Office so he could load it on his new computer. He also popped over to Jim’s to pickup a CD-Rom with Auto-Cad on; talk about scrounging, thanks Steve & Jim! Phil loaded on the new software and quickly got drawing up the flat. He had to do this so I can take a floor plan into B&Q on Tuesday as I have appointment with the kitchen designer. I am a little anxious about doing this by myself because normally Phil decides on what units we are having but I suppose because we are keeping the old base units it shouldn’t be too complicated.

After a quick trip to B&Q we went back to the flat and Phil got the 2 sofas out of the flat virtually by himself. I tried to help but they were very heavy and awkward and at one point I thought they were going to get stuck in the door frame. I meant to take a picture of all the rubbish outside, with the sofas added to the pile; it really does look like Steptoe’s yard. I just hope the council comes soon to collect it all. Harriet and Shane turned up in the afternoon with a can of beer for all of us. They had a good look round and agreed that the flat was in Harriet’s own words “minging”. Their arrival meant an enforced break and after they left we decided to down tools and call it a day. Saturday night was spent slumped in front of the telly, we were cream crackered.

On Sunday Phil met up with Georgina and they went to the cinema to see the new Pink Panther movie. They had limited time and I don’t this was their first choice of film but it was only movie that was just about to start. Meanwhile I did a viewing on the kebab flat. It was a couple looking for an investment property to rent out. It is their first venture in the buy to let market and I’m not sure they were that interested in our place. The guy asked me how much we would come down on the price and I said having dropped from £110k down to £95k, Phil wouldn’t negotiate. We have another viewing on Tuesday so we shall see what that brings.

I met up with Phil and we went to BathroomBits4u in Newport Pagnell. We quickly found a back-to-wall toilet, taps and a white bath which we think should fit in the flat. There are some good deals on bathrooms at B&Q but this place is much cheaper. Plus they will deliver for as little as £9.99. We didn’t order yesterday, deciding to wait until David gets the old bathroom suite out which hopefully he will do this week. Phil was starving so we went to The Giffard for lunch. Afterwards we didn’t much feel like going back to the flat to work so we decided to go home and chill out for the rest of the day.

And that was our weekend. I did my usual trick of waking up at 2am this morning and disturbing Phil. We’re didn’t really get back to sleep until just before the alarm went off which is always the way. I felt really sorry for poor Phil; he managed a bowl of weetabix before shuffling out of the front door just after 5am. He called me at quarter past 8 to say that he’d arrived safely. He’s not happy being away from home but he’s says he’s going to post a blog this week so I shall leave it to him to bring you his own tales of woe from Somerset. As for me, I can’t say that I’m really looking forward to the long week ahead. It’s going to be some hard graft and I feel weary before I even begin.

Photo’s to follow tonight.

How Clean is your House?

So far, it hasn’t been the best of weeks. I started off on Monday by taking a friend to the treatment centre at MK hospital to have a lump removed from her breast. Not the best start to the week; I was glad I could be of help in the transport department, relieved it wasn’t me of course and hopefully the biopsy won’t show up anything nasty.

Unfortunately for me, it was the monthly general meeting of the Lion Hearts Cruising Club on Monday evening and Phil made me promise before he left for Somerset, that I would attend. Funny thing that seeing as he was the one that wanted to join the club and have a boat moored in the yard and yet it is yours truly that has to attend our first meeting! Phil laughed when he realised he would be away but I can tell you, it took great inner strength for me to go alone. It was a wet soggy walk down to the clubhouse, which I have to tell you, was packed out, even though I had arrived early. They did make me welcome I have to say, but I was most embarrassed when the club commodore made me stand up when he introduced me as a new member. I was cursing Phil inwardly whilst smiling and listening to the items on the agenda. There was a nice lady called Jenny who was the club secretary and she looked after me. I signed the register, brought 2 raffle tickets and took my place at the back of the room. I declined tea and cake and was home by 9.30. Boy was I ready for a large glass of wine! And naturally I had to phone Phil immediately to tell him of my ordeal.

Phil, on the other hand, also hasn’t had a great week. I won’t go into too much detail because no doubt he will want to tell his own story BUT I think he misses me or his home comforts and feels far away. A friend said that he must feel like he is at boarding school for the first time and I guess he is right. Poor Phil! It was weird being ‘home alone’ on Monday for the first time and having to be responsible for turning off and locking up but now I’ve got used to being a proper grown up, you know what, ‘it’s kind of cool’! Tongue in cheek and of course I do miss Phil; he is cross that I can’t get the video camera to work but maybe this is a good thing, I look so shit of late that maybe its best he can’t see me on camera. Best to imagine!

Things have been fraught this week and I have had no time to be lonely. After the trauma of Lion Hearts on Monday, Tuesday fared no better although I can’t remember why. Wednesday was even worse; trip to the dentist for my appointment with Tina the hygienist who for some reason hates my guts with a passion and afterwards followed an ECDL test on Module 7 which I’m glad to say I passed especially as it cost me 25 quid to take.

Harriet came round on Wednesday night for dinner. I cooked half a roast chicken (ready cooked from Sainsbury’s for £1.94, great for money) together with mash with peas, broccoli and green beans. It was good to catch up but I was ready for her to leave because I was dying to call Phil who had gone out with a fellow contractor for a pint and I wanted to know how he’d got on. I’m so nosey.

The biggest SHIT of the week though has to be getting the flat back in Oldbrook. Simon phoned me late Tuesday to say that he'd cleared his stuff and had dropped the keys in the letterbox. He was clever and knew that it was too late for me to inspect; he refused to give me a forwarding address and on Thursday morning I knew why. I don’t know if you have ever watched ‘How Clean is Your House’ but if you have, you’ll know what I’m taking about. My house was SHIT when I inspected it and I have to say the worst repossession I have ever done. Phil is normally with me when we get a flat back and is very skilled at calming me down. But hey he wasn’t there and I was very upset. First up I did an ‘up and down’ inspection and seeing the state of the gaff went on a verbal rampant that went something like this: “Simon, ex tenant of 8 years, I wish you a painful, premature early death, i.e. within the next 2 months and I wish you no morphine relief AND I wish that you contract C-Diff or worse still MRSA”. Yeah it was long a rant I know and I’m an evil person for thinking such dark thoughts but I think I am justified; this guy owes me 2 months rent, the very least he could have done was leave the place in a reasonable condition. Oh the joys of being a landlady.

Now you know what a truly horrible person I am. I don’t care; if you’d seen what SHIT I cleared yesterday, you would understand. It was horrible; even David the posh plumber that I had booked to turn off the water and rip out the bathroom, made his excuses and dipped out in favour of another job. I cleared 56 sacks of rubbish, I dug out the bathroom carpet and underlay; I found a bucket of puke under the lovely hand made wooden bed that Phil brought me. That took some doing I can tell you, god only knows how long it had been there. I could go on and on, suffice to say that the place was really rank and I know I have 2 more days of surface cleaning to get rid of all of the bacteria. I suppose I should be used to this by now as I seem to spending my life cleaning other people’s shit.

Still on a brighter note, it's a beautiful day and Phil is coming home tonight. I have got the wine chilling in the fridge along with the sticky toffee puddings that he so loves and a cupboard full of Bombay mix. Things can only get better.

That's Life

I don’t know whether this is something that just happens to me but there is a lot going in my mind at the moment and this rolls over into my sleep. Instead of slipping into a deep dark slumber, I toss and turn, going over all the days anxieties and wake up feeling like I’ve had a night out on the lash. Worse than that, as daylight filters through the blinds, which invariably I’ve turned up the wrong way, I feel knackered and in need of a good nights’ sleep. The worse bit though is the big bags under my eyes.

Well, as you will see, the boy done good and managed to blag his way into the job. I was glad that I went with him to the interview because it gave me a chance to suss out the town and find him a place to stay. Of course it was a big day for Phil but it was also a very long day for me. I traipsed up the high street several times, found Lidl’s, Tesco’s and the library and whiled away 2 long hours in Weatherspoons with a cup of tea, fish and chips and a pint of diet coke.

After finding a guesthouse that I thought Phil would like, I’d had enough and headed back to the engineering company where Phil was having his trial. I figured I’d park up in the car-park, check out the small village of Coomb St Nicholas and spend the final hour in the car with my library book. However the receptionist was watching me suspiciously as I parked up so I thought it best that I pop in and explain what I was doing on their premises. She was a nice girl and made me a cup of tea and let me use the loo. Phil finally got out at 4pm and we made the long journey home.
It wasn’t a pleasant journey back from Somerset and we were knackered on Saturday. We had a quick steak at The Giffard at lunchtime and then in the afternoon Phil worked on his OU TMA while I popped over to Christine’s to help her move some furniture. Most of Sunday was spent getting Phil ready for his new job. Phil cooked up a big pot of chilli and I packed his suitcase for him. Phil decided we need to get a video cam so we could keep in touch so we went to Staples and ended up with a cheap web cam for me and a new laptop with a built in video camera for Phil. This might seem extravagant but Phil has been struggling with his screen for months after I accidentally stood on his laptop whilst trying to find the loo in the middle of the night whilst we were on holiday. After unpacking his new toy, Phil spent a couple of hours loading the necessary software. Actually, I don’t think it came with any software so I’m not sure what he was loading on but you know what boys with new toys are like!

I waved goodbye to Phil yesterday morning. I actually felt quite sorry for him because I had got up at 2.30 am to go to the toilet and he hadn’t been able to get back to sleep so he was already knackered as he set off on his long drive. It seems very strange being apart and I don’t think it’s going to work if this contract goes on long term. I wasn’t sure that Phil should accept this contract in the first place but I realise that aside from the money coming into the pot again, the experience that he will gain using the software, will really help him get put forward for other contracts in the future. But that said, it’s only day or two in, so we will just have to see how we fare.

Since changing my CV and making it slightly more generic, I have some interest from agents on the job front. There is a chance of an administrator contract in Galley Hill and Select Appointments, now called Ranstad, want me to go into the office to register for some data input work. Don’t know about the role itself because they left a very brief message on my answer phone last yesterday, so I shall call them back later today. The only trouble is that Simon says definitely he will indeed be leaving the flat today so I will finally get possession. I dread to think what state it is in and I know there is no way that I can sit and data input when I have a flat sitting empty and not earning its money. The other thing is that I have been getting stuck my ECDL CD Rom and in fact passed my first exam, Module 3 Word, last week. As Phil says, you sit waiting for ages, then 3 busses come along all at once.

Hey ho, that’s life I guess.

I'm a Legal Pirate

How did I get that Job? Nobody can be more amazed than me. How could I pass a test using a CAD program that I have barely used? Did I A-cheat, B-lie, C-conspire or D-it is written? All of the above!

Claire rescheduled her dental appointment so that she could come to Somerset with me on Friday morning. We decided to try and leave before 5am so as to miss the M1 and M25 traffic and give ourselves a chance of getting there with time for a breakfast. I was dreaming all night about the interview. When I say all night, until about 2am when I woke and couldn’t get back to sleep again. I had alternate dreams and nightmares about my interview / test. All this was very good practice and I was well prepared for my day ahead when we set off. My biggest fear, before I went to sleep, was if it all went terribly wrong as it could have been a most embarrassing situation. I knew that wouldn’t happen as my sleep had prepared me for that event; I was still no better at using the program only well prepared for the situation.

We started with a Little Chef (or big chef) breakfast at about 7.30am near my new job. Good old Hesston, it was lovely, and just the power breakfast I needed to improve my confidence. I was taken around and shown the entire factory and introduced to everyone until about 11am from 8.30am. Really nice people and a proper old fashioned engineering company, just like they used to be. They even still have official tea breaks where everyone stops what they are doing for tea. There are about 150 people working there and the factory, offices and stores are spread around like a rabbit warren. I worked out who would be assessing me and worked on him. I always get on with his type anyway; the ones with long hair, tied back in a pony tail. I asked lots of questions about him and he took great pleasure in explaining most of his life story while I looked interested whilst working out the best way to approach telling him about my lack of experience before taking the test. I managed to find the perfect time to explain my concerns about taking a couple of days to get used to the program again as I hadn’t used it for a long time and that I had not actually used the drawing side of the package before. I also explained that I had used lots of other similar CAD packages and it doesn’t normally take me long to pick anything up.

I was very lucky as everything just seemed to happen perfectly; situations arose naturally that I just happened to know about. Unusual things that wasn’t common knowledge, so after a while it must have seemed to him, that I almost new as much about the industry as he did. In actual fact, it had been 25 years since I had worked in that industry. At one point, when my assessor was talking to the new MD, the MD expressed his concern that they had little knowledge of the new tray filler machine that would be coming into the factory in a couple of weeks. I joined in by asking which tray filler it was, as I had worked on tray filler design before at Molins. He said it was a TF3. I couldn’t believe my luck as that was the only tobacco machine that I had ever worked on. I explained that I was part of the team that originally designed the TF3 and maybe I could help.

All this time Claire was walking around Chard looking for a suitable bed and breakfast establishment for me in the unlikely event that I passed my days trial. Little did she know how luck I am sometimes, especially when in these sort of difficult situations. She found the most suitable one and said that Chard is a lovely little “oldie worldy” town in the highest part of Somerset with lovely views but still only a few miles from the coast. Apparently some of the beaches are great, especially as Somerset is not a normal tourist area so the area is still natural.

My test had started, and I was expected to “reverse engineer” some of the parts taken from a cigarette packing machine assembly. Reverse Engineering, is the term for copying someone else’s design by stripping it down, measuring the parts and drawing up your own drawings of it; effectively legal piracy. The only thing to beware about is if there are any parts or assemblies that have patens outstanding. I managed to fumble my way through modeling the simplest part and half do a drawing of it but got stuck with not being able to find the right tools in the program. Rather than waste too much time, I started modeling the next simplest part which I had just finished when my assessor came back. I explained that I couldn’t find the correct tools to finish the first drawing and he showed me where they were. I showed him the second model and that I was temporarily stumped with this too. He took over to help on the model just as my computer crashed. Thank goodness it was him and not me, and at least he could see that I had done quite allot before it was lost and he didn’t have to take my word for it. He decided to install some updates while he was there which took us well into the afternoon by the time they were done leaving little time for my test. I only just had time to remodel the lost part and no more time for the drawing part that I didn’t know. The home time bell rang and he was over just in time to watch me complete the model that he had lost. Passed – see you Monday!

Friday the 13th

Before I start the main purpose of this entry, I just wanted to say a little about the credit crunch and global situation. It seems to be getting worse and worse with reports of job losses everywhere, no confidence in the banks, house prices falling; even the snow seems to be against us. The forecasts regarding house prices have been very bleak with most predictions of the downturn continuing this year and next at least. I don’t think it will, I think they will start going up again this year. House prices, like most other things are driven mainly by supply and demand. This time it has been complicated because the demand has gone down partly due to the banks not lending as they were. Before all this trouble we were led to believe that there were no where near as many houses around or being built than were required and massive house building projects were started and encouraged to cope. Since the downturn huge proportions of these projects have stopped or have been reduced. If these original forecasts were correct, its only a matter of time before demand outstrips supply and the prices will turn around. I have spoken to 3 estate agents this week and all have reported that they are extremely busy as there are lots of people looking to buy and very few houses for sale.

If house prices do turn around it has to help the other situations and will definitely help with confidence that seems to have more influence than is good for us. After all, it was the down turn of house prices that triggered the banks to fail in the first place. It will probably take a long time for the banks to recover fully but at least they should start to improve rather than continue to fall. I feel a lot more optimistic about things again, let's hope it rubs off.

You wait for a bus for months and then 3 come all at once. I have been looking for work since last November and although I speak to agents daily and have been put forward for lots of jobs, I have not even got to an interview. There are so many people applying for every job, even an old experienced contractor like me can’t get anywhere as there are always several others with more relevant experience than me. For 20 years I have done lots of different engineering jobs but mostly in different fields to each other; it's not really joined up, and now we have this situation it seems to be against me.

Anyway, I have been waiting for my Open University course to start so I could get going on that but there was a long delay getting the first TMA (Tutor Marked Assignment) out so I couldn’t really get going properly. The course finally started on Saturday so I have been hard at it because you never know how busy you will be tomorrow. The other thing we have been hanging around waiting for is our tenant to move out so we can fit a new kitchen, bathroom, windows and total redecoration prior to moving into it as Claire has finally had enough of the kebab flat. Our tenant is finally moving out on Monday.

Just as things have started to get going what happens? I got a job, and it starts tomorrow, in Somerset. Nightmare! And of course I’m not superstitious but tomorrow is Friday 13th. This seems particularly relevant to me this time because to get to the job in the first place, I had to exaggerate a bit. Well, allot really. Well I suppose lying would be more accurate. I don’t normally but I was getting desperate; I thought if I could only get to an interview, I could talk my way in and being a quick learner I would be settled in before they found me out. This has now totally backfired on me as they don’t want to interview me, they want me to go in tomorrow for a trail day. Shit! Not really long enough to muddle my way through until I can pick it up. Take a lesson from this kids, don’t lie!

I can’t even cancel or not turn up as I would be totally letting down the agent that has worked VERY hard to get me this. And he has even managed to get me on the top rate that they pay right from the start. He was even on the phone to me last night at 7pm and emailed me the contracts etc before he went home. It’s not in me to let someone down that has put himself out so much for me. Better to face the music and embrace myself; take the hit. At least it won’t be him that looks stupid. Wish me luck; I will be setting out before 5am in the morning.

Happy Birthday Georgina (and Charles)!

Frosty the Snowman

The last few days have been dominated by the snow and the sleet and the sludge. I suppose this has been the case for everyone I guess. We haven’t been up to much which will explain the lack of postings. The weekend was mostly uneventful; Phil spent most of it in his pyjamas studying his evolution books and I practised my IT applications. After the gym on Sunday I went round to Christine’s to help her move some furniture before her carpet fitters turn up on Thursday. Afterwards she made me some lunch and then we took the dogs for a walk around the lake. It was bitterly cold but even so, still nice to be out in the fresh air.

Since I’ve been on my ‘new year’ diet, I’ve put on half a stone! How this has happened I do not know but what I do know is that it has to come off. I have been to the gym every day since Sunday but my ankle is playing me up so I haven’t been able to do very much, which is frustrating. If I rest it up it doesn’t hurt but I think it is more important to be active.

Things are looking bad in the job department and even Phil is beginning to get worried. I found a job website over the weekend which tells you how many applicants each post has received and there are literally hundreds of people applying for even the ‘meets the minimum wage’ jobs. I am not sure what to do next and neither is Phil. I did manage to get myself to Best training to register for my ECDL certificate and I have my first exam tomorrow. Wish me luck, I feel sure I know enough to pass but the course software is boring as shit and I keep skipping the exercises.

Yesterday I went to David Lloyd and when I came back Phil informed me we had a viewing on the flat. He had tidied up bless him but obviously things weren’t up to my standard. After lunch I went to David Lloyd for an eyebrow wax. Unfortunately my favourite therapist has left but I had a girl called Sarah instead. After the black eye incident, I don’t pluck anymore, its too risky. Rachel was in the salon so I also got me a cut and finish. It’s not long since I’ve had my hair done done but it was looking fairly crap, bit like the rest of me really!

In the afternoon I met Jess and Christine in Starbucks just across the road. Poor Jess got diagnosed with 2 types of cancer in the autumn. She’s had surgery and is now undergoing a 3 month course of chemo. I really feel for her, she only retired last year after working for 36 years at the OU. Her and her husband have had a villa in Portugal built and were hoping to retire and spend their days playing rounds of golf and lounging by their pool. I hope they still can. This f***ing cancer has got a lot to answer for. Still, Jess is a strong cuckoo and if anyone can beat it, she can, I’m certain.

Last night we went to see ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ at The Odeon. It was a good film and we both enjoyed it. I am not a big Brad Pitt fan but he played the part of Benjamin very well. The one big plus about living in the kebab flat is its close proximity to the cinema. Still all things must come to an end. I got an email from Simon to say that he’ll probably move out of the Oldbrook flat next week which means that we can start work sooner than we thought. It will take us a few weeks to get it sorted but I think if we work hard, there is a chance we will be moved out by the end of March.

Groundhog Day

With all the bad weather, I have been like an Eskimo hiding away in her iglu all week. God I hate the snow and the cold wet weather makes me more miserable than ever. Phil drove me for my interview on Tuesday morning and I am still waiting to hear if I have been successful. Trouble is, I’m not convinced that I really want to work 42 hours a week including every Saturday for 14 grand. Phil says I must but I’m not so sure that this is the one for me. I could do the job standing on my head but I have other doubts that probably are best not aired in public, just in case I am forced to accept.

Against my better wishes, Phil managed to drag me to London on Thursday, which in view of the dire weather conditions, was definitely a mad idea. In spite of all of the delays and cancellations we managed to get on a super fast train straight away and were in London in the blink of an eye. I hadn’t been to the Natural History Museum before, it’s not really my cup of tea and I wasn’t that impressed with the Darwin exhibition. I was just glad that Phil had printed off a discount voucher from the internet so we didn’t pay full price for our tickets. I felt sorry for Phil; I think he had high expectations of the exhibition which I don’t think were met. Still at least now he has seen it for himself.

It was a few changes on the underground to China Town to Phil’s favourite restaurant which unfortunately was closed for refurbishment. We found a Chinese restaurant nearby but it was very disappointing and not worth the money. Phil said I could go shopping but it was pouring with rain and sleet and I just couldn’t see the point. We got back to Euston station to find major delays and cancellations and were really lucky to get on the Birmingham train. It was an uphill track from the station back to the flat in all the snow and I can tell you, I was very happy to get back in the warm without having broken any bones.

It was snowing very heavily when we woke up yesterday morning and there was no way we were going out in the car. But we didn’t really have much in the cupboards so we got on our boots and made our way to Waitrose and went to the market on the way back. There were very few shops open in the centre, I would say less than half and only a handful of stalls set up on the market. I went into a shoe shop to buy some imitation Ugg boots. The manager in the store told me she was saying in a local hotel and that her local staff had problems getting to work because the buses had stopped running. There were loads of people in the shop trying to buy wellies to put on when they walked home after work.

Phil made us a nice shepherd’s pie which was delicious and perfect for a day when you’re snowed in. We saw that the snow had stopped after lunch and decided to jump in the shower and take ourselves to the cinema. I was meant to go for an eyebrow wax at David Lloyd but decided to cancel the appointment because there no way I wanted to drive my car in the snow.

I also had an appointment to go and register for a computer course. I can’t quite remember if I’ve said before, but I going to try and get my ECDL certificate (European Computer Driving Licence). Most employers seem to be asking for this qualification and although I’m fairly competent with most IT applications, I think it will me get interviews if I can get me a certificate. I need to do this quickly though and there is no time to waste. The Pitman Training Centre just round the corner from the kebab flat want £250 to study the ECDL course then another £200 quid for the exams but I have found similar on-line tuition on the internet for £40 so I have been ploughing through this. I have found an accredited training centre in South Fifth Street where I need to register and then take the 7 exams.

We didn’t know if the Odeon would be open but despite the snowfall it was business as usual. We got tickets for ‘Seven Pounds’ with Will Smith, and, as is usual at The Odeon, we had the whole place all to ourselves. The film was slow to start and it took us both a while to figure out what was going on but once it clicked we enjoyed it. It’s not a film to see if you want cheering up mind you, but we liked the twist at the end. We got back home just in time to watch Secret Millionaire. I wonder why we bother to watch this programme because it never fails to make us both cry.

No sure about plans for the weekend. I suppose I ought to clean my teeth, put on some clothes and get out and about. I think its about time this Eskimo left her iglu.

Darwin’s Big Idea

The snow was really falling again Thursday when we got up; there must have been 3 or 4 inches overnight. It’s funny; we changed over to metric in the early 70’s yet when we talk about snowfall it’s always in old money. The buses weren’t running and the car looked pretty well covered so we thought the only way to the train station was to walk there. Claire took lots of convincing, but still came in the end. It was pretty treacherous going, especially that our good boots are still in Giffard Park so I made my way in my normal boat shoes.

Lots of trains were cancelled but the first Virgin train came in just as we were walking down the stairs to the platform so we ran down and jumped on it. We only had a cheap day return and wasn’t supposed to get a Virgin train and we were also too early for the cheap rate slot because of the delays. Never mind, the ticket man hadn’t made it in so nobody knows.

The exhibition was a little disappointing for me as there wasn’t really anything there that I didn’t already know about. I really liked seeing his actual notebooks though and this made it worth while. Especially the one where he draws the tree of evolution with branches on with the words, “I think”. Evolutionary trees are still drawn in this way today. We had a quick walk around the dinosaur room and the creepy crawlies but Claire got spooked out by the sound of wasps buzzing. After all, it was lunch time and we were both looking forward to lunch in Wong Kei’s. I had first been there with Steve and Mei Jing over 10 years ago one New years Eve in the last century. It is quite basic and cheap but great authentic food.

It had started to rain in London when we came out of the Natural History Museum and the snow was clearing. We were very disappointed when we got to Wong Kei’s and they were shut for redecoration until 15th February. To find it get off at the Piccadilly Circus station and walk up Shaftsbury Avenue and it’s on your right just around the corner to China town down Wardour Street. We decided to try one of the restaurants in China town and all the decorations were up for Chinese New Year. Most of them are buffets which we are not keen on but we tried the one that the food looked the best through the window. Bad move, not very nice at all but never mind. I have tried several of the places along that street over the years and always end up disappointed. Go to Wong Kei’s every time!

Harriet had rang to say that a lot of the trains were being cancelled so we decided to head back to the station. It wasn’t very nice walking around in the rain anyway. Good job we did as all trains were cancelled accept for the next Virgin one where the first stop was Milton Keynes so we had no choice but to run for it with everyone else when the platform was announced. Luckily, we got a seat and the ticket man still hadn’t got to work, maybe he had missed his train. Shhhh don't tell anyone!

Happy Birthday Charles and Georgina!

It’s unusual for me to write an entry when we haven’t been anywhere but just wanted to show you a couple of photo’s that I took recently. I eventually got my camera back from the menders following my accident at Louise and Mark’s party last year where I had slightly too much to drink.

Considering that we live smack bang in Milton Keynes city centre, most people find it surprising that we have views over grass and trees from all our windows. We even have squirrels from time to time. A couple decided to take advantage of the recent snowfalls to make their child’s first snowman. Rumor has it that the Mum is a mermaid.

Claire had her first interview today at a local estate agents and it was nice to see her getting ready and dressing up for it. She had to search high and low for some of her bits but it was worth it in the end. She doesn’t hold out very much hope as there was a real good response to the advert and they won’t be finished interviewing until late next week. Can’t wait until we get Claire’s flat back so I can get stuck into some real work again.

I decided to finish off my Open University degree in the next couple of years and my Evolution course will be officially starting at the end of this week. I have done enough first and second level courses for 2 degrees but to get a graded degree like a 2:1 you need to do 4 3rd level courses and I have only done one in the past.
We started getting course material before Christmas but only today was the first TMA (Tutor Marked Assignment) put on the course website so I can finally get down to answering it. The main book came the day before we went to Goa so I was able to read it all on holiday but I will be re-reading it section by section as I work through the course proper. This first reading was worthwhile as it has given me a good overview; even though I have since found out we don’t need to read the whole thing, only certain sections here and there. I will tell you a bit more about it in future entries but it was a good year to resurrect my studies with it being 200 years since Darwin’s birth in Shrewsbury and 150 years since “The Origin of Species” was published. Also, if I am going to be out of work, it’s a good time to be doing another course. In fact we are off to London tomorrow to the Natural History Museum where they have a Charles Darwin expedition on for his birthday on February 12th, exactly 200 years before my daughter Georgina’s birthday.

Revolutionary Road

On Monday morning I served notice on Simon in Oldbrook. Unfortunately his mobile number wasn’t recognised so I had to do the dirty deed by email. I felt bad about this but having made up our minds, there was no turning back. It’s been a long time since I served notice of possession so I had to pay for a Section 21(4)(a) notice from a property website on the internet. Monday was the deadline otherwise we would have had to wait another month; I sent Phil round to deliver it by hand. Cowardly I know but if I had gone myself, I would probably have bottled out. Thankfully Simon had picked up my email so it wasn’t a total shock but even so, Phil said he was fairly gutted. But we have no other option, we still have to pay the mortgages and can’t afford to do this if we aint getting any rent. It’s gotta come in before it can go out. Simple.

Even though the weather was foul and it was snowing hard Phil dragged me out to IKEA to get some ideas for refurbishing the Oldbrook flat. His idea is that the more we can source and buy before Simon goes, the quicker we can turn the flat around. I agree but it so long since I have stepped foot in the flat that I found it difficult to get any vision, let alone a creative one. After IKEA we made our way across the city and went to B&Q. I soon found a kitchen within the budget and picked out the worktops along with the wall and floor tiles. One of the guys that used to serve us a lot recognised Phil and we asked him about the offer they had on. B&Q are giving 50% off kitchens up until the 5th Feb. We told him it was too soon as we needed to measure up before we could place a firm order. He said no problem because if we booked an appointment with a kitchen planner for sometime in the next 3 or 4 weeks then we could still buy all the stuff and still qualify for the 50% discount. He said we would get discount on all the tiles and grouting as well. We couldn’t believe our luck and if he is telling us the truth this will save us an awful lot of money.

As we walked out with a load of brochures Phil spotted a whole bathroom suite on sale for just £239. Unbelievable or what! It even included the waste and the taps! There was another suite which was even cheaper but the taps were crap and I know I would have to spend another 70 quid replacing them. The plan is to somehow get access to the flat and measure up before the appointment with our kitchen planner. I can see us having to take 2 cars to collect all of our bargains when the time comes. Simon has to be out of the flat by the 3rd April but we are hoping he will leave before then so we can get stuck in.

The weather was really foul when we came out of B&Q, it was snowing heavily and really slippy underfoot. Phil was skidding everywhere on purpose and I was getting very annoyed with him. I just wanted to get home and in the warm but he insisted on paying a visit to dwell, a shop just by Comet & Halfords. Harriet mentioned it to us and Phil wanted to check it out. Even though I was fed up with all the skidding I was glad we went to have a look. They have some really quirky stuff, a bit like ‘Habitat’ style but certainly much cheaper. I have some doubts about the quality of their gear but even so, if you check carefully before you buy, you can pick up some unusual things. We didn’t buy anything though.

Yesterday was a mish mash day. Phil made the lunch and mostly did his OU all day. I got my boots on and crunched my way down to the job centre, what a dreadfull place. I pulled off a couple of jobs from the computer and applied for them when I got back home. Actually I have got an interview today with an estate agent in Wolverton. Me and Raj are meeting at 10am, I hardly have any details about the job but at least I’ve got me an interview.

Last night Phil and I went to see Revolutionary Road with Kate Winslet and With Leonardo DiCaprio at Cineworld. The film started off well but and I certainly wasn’t bored but you know what, I can’t see why it received so many Oscar nominations. And neither did Phil. Perhaps it was us, perhaps we missed the whole point of the film altogether?? Who knows, personally I wished we’d gone to see Seven with Will Smith. Well, that's enough twaddle from me, I will now sign off and get ready for my interview.

Monday Morning

Following on from our return from Devon, I have to say that we’ve had a couple of quiet days. We had a good time in Okehampton and I was glad that we made the effort to drive down and see Chris & Christine. I had forgotten how good a cook Chris is; he has the ability to make something out of nothing and produce fabulous dishes without having to refer to a recipe.

Phil was right when he said that I was certainly jealous of C&C’s new flat in Devon and it made me realise just how unhappy I am, living in the kebab flat. Even though we have just about changed everything in the flat I have realised that I don’t like living in an environment that I can’t control. Our central heating timing has gone AWOL and since we got back on Friday, our heating has been going off at 3pm and coming on at 3am. I have made several calls to the emergency number over the weekend but all to no avail. The engineer on call told me that I must have an air-block but how can this be when I have heat but just at the wrong times of the day or night. Urgggghhhhhhhh. I can’t bear to have any more dealings with the council contractor and will be passing this problem over to Phil to resolve.

There may however be light at the end of the tunnel. Whilst we were away our agent did a viewing at the kebab flat and apparently the person that viewed is very interested. The agent feels sure they will put in an offer but they have one more property to show them later today before they make up their minds. So, fingers crossed. In view of the current climate we are open to any offers. Phil and I had a conversation at 4am this morning when he got up to go to the loo, and we have decided to serve notice on my tenant in Oldbrook. Simon has been in the flat for 7 years and has been a good tenant but unfortunately he got made redundant just before Christmas and hasn’t paid his rent since. Normally we would ride the storm but in our current position this just isn’t an option. I dread making the call this morning but it has to be done.

So the plan is to sell the kebab flat or if no offer, then rent it out again and move to Oldbrook. We haven’t done any work in the Oldbrook flat since it has been rented out so when we do get possession we shall have to put in a new kitchen and bathroom, redecorate throughout and possibly replace the boiler and a few of the windows. I don’t relish the prospect of doing yet another refurbishment but at least I will have a room with a view and won’t have to live amongst a bunch of idiots.

Yesterday Phil picked up Georgina and they drove down to his mum and dads for lunch. Unfortunately his dad had been up the previous night with sickness and diarrhoea and had to stay in bed all day. I picked up Christine and we went to The Barge for lunch. Luckily we managed to get a table in front of the fire. Christine had the homemade fishcakes and I did debate whether to order a chicken salad but in the end the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding proved too tempting! After lunch we went back to Christine’s and took Buffy & Purdy out for a walk. It was bitterly cold outside so unfortunately for the woofs, we decided to retreat back to the house so they only had a short walk. Meanwhile the snow had started to come down really heavy in Melton so Phil decided to leave straight after lunch and was already home and in his pyjama’s when I got back.

I have a whole list of things to do this morning, I have been up since 5.30am so I have already been able to tick some things off my ‘to do’ list. I have just opened the blinds and see that we have had some snow overnight and indeed as I type, it’s beginning to snow again. Only a light scattering but its still falling nonetheless. I think I shall make myself some porridge and start some paperwork jobs. Today might just have to be a ‘working from home’ day. If you do have to venture outside today, drive carefully and take care.