Author: peterb51

19th December 2017

Another early start for my trip to Whitney on Wye to see my friend Martin.

He had been dealt a terrible blow several weeks ago when he was diagnosed with growth on his liver. He is waiting for a CT scan to see if it can be operated on. He remains optimistic, albeit under heavy pain killers. I struggle with what to say, without sounding uncaring . I have known him for over twenty years, and watched his health deteriorate. He has suffered physical and mental pain from the age of seven, he often talked about death setting him free, but faced with an uncertain future, he clings to life by the same fingernails as we all would.

Martin was selling me his Mitsubishi Shogun, and this will be my workhorse, enabling the shifting of all the crap from the cottage to the tip in relative comfort.

I then had to drive back to Bath for an important dinner appointment. I realised that time had slipped away, and I had to rely on the power of the Jag to get me there. At times I felt that I was holding on to the steering wheel, with my legs flapping behind like a scarf blowing in the wind.

Dinner was at the Mint Rooms with three of my best ex Herman friends. Due to my lateness I was able to make contact with Helen who took my order.

The main disadvantage of writing a blog is that all my stories have been told, and those who have read them, know everything, so I had nothing left to say.

The evening was great, and Bob even dressed up for the occasion (yes I know,) and wore a festive bow tie. I spent the evening wondering when it was going to spin, or light up.

The meal was wonderful, right up to the point at which I must have bit into a chilli, I kept my cool, and finished off my beer in an attempt to relieve the burn, I know that

Isn’t what you’re supposed to do, but it was a better alternative than licking the window.

18th December 2017

An early start from Barrington for a meeting with Interior Harmony in Bath. I wanted them to quote for the kitchen to give me a comparison with Leekes.

Straight away Leroy wanted to “do it”, in his mild midland drawl. The incentives were hitting me one after another, 2017 prices (no increase) and advertising features (discounts), and, priority treatment (returning customer), so there was a lot going on. I spent an hour with Linda the designer going through appliances I wanted, and the layout, I will wait to see what it will look like, and more importantly the cost.

There is a great difference in attitude between a kitchen supplier, and the builder. The supplier is all over you, making you feel valued, but a builders doesn’t give a shit, after all, you came to him, therefore they can decide if they want to be bothered to respond. This arrogance really makes it difficult to believe what they say.

As Sean, the builder was recommended by friends who have been satisfied with his work,it becomes a disappointment , and tarnishes any future relationship they might have with him.

17th December 2017

I returned to the cottage to complete stripping the ceiling. The air was still thick with dust, and although I cleaned up as I went, a new layer was everywhere.

The rest of the ceiling came down easily, after filling another ten rubble bags, I set about burning the lathes.

The log burner heated up very quickly, sounding like a blast furnace as it consumed the sticks.

As I was staring into the flames, I was thinking about the task ahead, adding new things to the list, new piping, new radiators. I was thinking about the new furniture I have to make. All this seems so far away.

My son Ryan came up to collect all the wood panels from the kitchen units, and take it all to the tip, that was a relief, the clean up had begun.

16th December 2017

It is really dirty job day, and dressed appropriately, I set about the first thing on my list, removing the sink unit.

Usually anything to do with water is a disaster, I can work on a loose piece of pipe and still flood the place. Firstly turn the in-line valve off, easy, just a ninety degree turn with a screwdriver, nope, not easy. After years of non use, it only had one action to make, and it wouldn’t even do that. Eighty degrees was the best it would do, and even that was a huge effort, and drew the first blood of the day. The only course of action was to work quick to minimise the water spill. I had the blanking caps ready, so I started to loosen the pipe nuts. I did expect a bit of trouble with these, but they freed up easily. With the nuts loosened, and a small leakage, I lifted the sink, it wouldn’t move. “Loosen the waste pipe you fool” my brain shouted. Loosened all that, and went to lift the sink again expecting success, but no, now there was an Earth wire between the sink and the pipe. I groped around for a screwdriver and released the screw. At last the sink was free, and I was able to attend to the leaking water. Once all that was done I could break up the base unit and pile it up outside, with the rest.

Now it was on to the next task, removing the kitchen ceiling.

I started in one corner, and was surprised at the thickness of the plaster, and therefore the weight. It was a good decision to wear a hard hat as the lumps of plaster fell about me.

In a couple of hours I had done nearly half the room, and discovered several Lego bricks, that my boys must have lost down the gaps in the floor.

15th December 2017

Pete the plasterer was at the cottage bright and early, I had use him before, he remembered the long walk up the slope, and gasping at the front door.

We went through everything, and agreed that he would come in when rooms were ready.

Next were the guys from the kitchen and bathrooms. “A blank sheet of paper” I said as they both gasped for breath at the front door.

These were young kids, I don’t expect they know what a blank sheet of paper was? I should have said “blank screen” oh how things have changed.

After taking measurements, and listening to my requirements, they left, promising to send me a date for the revelation of the first draft plans.

I returned to chipping off the old tiles and plaster, slowly reducing the place into the contents of many black rubble bags.

Gavin, electrician number two arrived gasping at the front door. He was someone the property management company had use for electrical jobs in my rental house. He was really detailed in his note taking, and his knowledge of all things electrical. He threw things at me that I had no idea what he was talking about, I just nodded, like a back window plastic dog. My general response was”You’re the expert” that seemed to boost his confidence, or increase the quote, I’m not sure which.

Finally, after sweeping up the mess I had made and starting yet again another plastic bag, I left the cottage, and prepared for the main event of the day, Star Wars.

It was forty years ago that I took my boys to see the first very first one, and today it is still an important event in their lives, and they have passed it on to their own children, awesome.

This obsession/passion is also shared by Kelli and her children, although, being American there are more whoops,cheering, Pepsi gulping and popcorn, and that’s before the film starts.

14th December 2017

I converted the kitchen into a pile of rubble. It was a dirty job, but it’s progress.

The builder turned up, and wasn’t phased by the job. Removing the wall between the living room and the kitchen was the simplest, the old fireplace would require a bit more thought.

Mid afternoon Antony the electrician arrived.

We talked through the job, and he went away to tot up his numbers, and send me a quotation.

That evening I went to my son Ryan’s home where I would be staying for the next few nights. Yet again I was relying on other people’s generosity to get me through, and it is hard for me. I have this wreck of a house that I cannot live in,…………yet, I am not used to being so dependant, I feel grateful for every cup of tea, and slice of toast, I’m not actually in control of anything at the moment.

I do need to see this through, it will be great, but I have to build a realistic timeline, and I can only do that when I get information back from the trades.

It is frustrating not being able to tell Kelli when I am flying back, but if I have to wait for the jobs to come together, then I might fly back in between, that is the freedom I have, I guess.

13th December Thursday

I decided to take a drive to Taunton, somewhere else that I have never been before.

The road signs directed me to a city centre car park. I decided to drive to the top level so that I had a better choice of parking space. It still took me several attempts before I was satisfied that my positioning was good, hopefully no-one was watching.

Taunton was surprisingly good with plenty of well know shops and cafes. Some of the shop names were amusing. I had lunch in a place called ” Bare Grills” and found another place, that if Bob Rhodes ever decided to become a retail shop name consult, this is what he’d come up with.

Passing an insurance brokers I was drawn to the window displayed.

Cool car for kids.

When it came to leave, I made my way to the top level, but could not find the car. Frantic searching continued, different scenarios flooding my brain. There was nothing about the parking level that was vaguely familiar, it then dawned on me that I was in the wrong car park.

I should have realised at the time of climbing the stairs that something wasn’t right. There were so many levels that the air was thin, and there were these pearly gates.

Retracing my steps, I realised there was another car park next door, and that was where my car was waiting, Duh!

12th December 2017

The day for mental planning, I needed to prepare for my meetings on Friday. There is a lot to think about, the key is getting the building work done first. I made contact with a structural engineer who I need to advise me on the reinforcement needed to keep the house standing, whilst the walls are removed. There is a lot to think about, and that is before I get bombarded with questions from the trades.

I made a list of all the jobs that I could do to start the project. It will be dirty, and at times overpowering, but I guess every bag of rubble I make will move me forward.

11th December 2017

A early drive to Bath for a dental appointment, and a list of things to do was on the days agenda. I was pleased with the number of tradespeople that I have on my project, the plasterer confirmed a meeting at the end of the week. Tomorrow I make a start on some of the dirty work to strip down the old kitchen and get it to the tip. I am eager to get this renovation started so that I can get back to Holland and continue where I left off. Kelli has been doing an amazing job, working in the cold to keep her business going. She has never faltered, even though it is really difficult to keep positive sometimes, She had a problem with a customer who bought a lamp fitting that didn’t work. This happened just before I flew back, so there was no time to look at it. This is a real blow, it had a good price on it, but to keep your customer happy, she did a deal for this lady to choose other items from her booth up to the value of the lamp. Having done that, she collected the light, and brought it home. To her relief she found that it worked perfectly, and took it back to Painted Farmgirl, but this time connected and working.

Another furniture piece that I worked on, that I was not happy with, had the full Kelli treatment, and looked a whole lot better.

10th December 2017

The wind howled, and the rain hammered down through the night. Snow is very rare in this area, it’s not until you drive out of the village that you can share what the rest of the county has endured.

I took Nicola and Colin for lunch at a local pub, all low beams and big fires. A party of old folk joined the table next to us. As they surveyed their table, each couldn’t decide which chair to choose. Each one of them had a reason why “that” chair wasn’t suitable, too draughty, in a corridor, there were so many variants. After a prolonged game of musical chairs, but without the music, a compromise was reached. The designated driver was the one to sit in the draughty seat. He sat, dressed in a thick coat, hunched up sipping his fruit juice, whilst the old girls debated which wine to choose. It was better than a soup opera, our table was transfixed with the performance. The bottle arrived, and the glasses were filled, soon after, the cackling began. “We’ll go for the full three courses” said the lady with the obviously coloured hair. Now this pub is renowned for it’s ample servings, both Nicola and Colin gasped, they were thinking that all that food could kill them, so Colin moved his chair to give the paramedics an un-hindered way through, should they be needed.

“Oh this prawn cocktail is a bit filling” said the smallest lady, death by heart attack beckoning. The driver man shuffled in his seat, the fruit drink had done its job, he toddled off to the first of five visits to the toilet.

When the main course came, there was silence, a few mutters of “Oh that looks nice” but no immediate words of panic. We got on and finished our meal, and waited for any comments. The peace was broken by the words “Oh very nice, but they give you too much” We got up to leave, and I looked across, their plates were a sight of devastation. They have scraped up the turkey with the stuffing, and everything else was left. Colin likes his food, and I could see him eyeing up the roast potatoes, but Nicola made sure that eyeing was all it was.

We never knew if they had deserts, there were no ambulance sirens that we heard, so we concluded that they survived another day, and another feast.