Day 280 Grunt, grunt, oomph!

9th May 2018

Today was a landmark day, the kitchen units were being delivered. I had cleared space so that they could stored ready for the installation.

I was expecting two burly guys, bulging with tattoos and muscles to turn up with a carcase under each arm, the reality was only one chap, and the designer, Linda. It was bank holiday week, so too much sun and booze resulting in an absent assistant.

I looked at the packages, and offered my strength, or what was left of it. The sun had burnt off the morning mist, so the temperature was rising. We marshalled the boxes off the truck, and started the slow trek up the slope. I was pushing from the rear, and could hear the gasping coming from the front. To break up the journey, we established a base camp at the bottom of the garden path, and stacked the boxes there.

The poor guy was bathed in sweat and breathing loudly, I on the other hand, was relatively relaxed. Linda was carrying smaller boxes, but still dressed in a fleece. Eventually even she succumbed to the heat. One last push from base camp to living room was successful. The oven unit was the most difficult to get through the front door, but with bloody knuckles we made it. I gave the chap my bottled water which he gulped in one go. He kept mumbling that he wasn’t paid enough to carry furniture up the side of a mountain.

Once the job was done, off they went.

Colin the installer arrived later in the afternoon to bring his tools ready for tomorrow’s install.

I had driven to Leekes to collect the shower tray. I prepared the back of the Shogun ready for the load, and looked in horror as three attendants wheeled this monster towards me.

It took all of them to load it into the car, the suspension groaned, and my only thought was “how the heck will I get it to the cottage?”

Andy had not turned up in the morning, as he had another customer to attend to. I messaged him to find out when he would appear, and said that I had this monolith waiting to be carried up.

That was the heaviest thing I have moved in the whole project. The tray is a solid concrete slab over cast with a resin to form the tray, I was so concerned that we might drop it as we climbed the steps, the strain on my knees was tremendous, but eventually we made it into the bathroom, and both collapsed in triumph.