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Completion day fast approaching, my father becomes ill, and is hospitalised on the very day of completion. Anxious as we are
to go down to Druids Lodge and get started, we put it off in order to help him through the ordeal of an operation, and to
look after him on his discharge from the hospital. So it was some weeks later that we finally got to go there and see just
what we'd bought!
We loaded the car up with a mattress and bedding, a microwave and camping stove to cook on, cooking
utensils and crockery, a chair, as I can't sit on the floor, being disabled, clothes and food etc and off we went.
Arriving
in the dark hours of early evening, we entered our new abode. It smelt very damp and musty, as it had not been lived in for
over a year, and no doors or windows had been opened for six months, since our previous entry. It was cold too, so we immediately
put the fire on, and unloaded the car.
When we'd unpacked and sorted things out, we thought a cup of tea would be just
the thing, so we turned the water on to fill the kettle, only to find, a small leak by the sink, GREAT!
Well, it was
late by now, so nothing to do, but fill the kettle and some pans with water, and then turn the water off again until morning,
when we could call out a plumber. Thus done, we sat down, I in my chair, and Dean on the floor, drank our tea, and ate what
food we had packed.
After our rest and replenishment, we set off to survey our buy, and made up our bed on the floor.
Thinking to ourselves, what have we done, yet not wanting to voice this opinion, in case the other was pleased with it, not
wishing to upset them. We chatted about some of the things which urgently needed to be done, then settled down to sleep, for
the first time in our 'new' house.
The following morning, eager to get started, we awoke fairly early, we needed to call
in a plumber, but first and foremost, a cup of tea and some breakfast. This eaten I looked up a plumber in the telephone directory,
fortunately left here by the previous tenant. I had arranged for the phone to be connected, so that it was in use should we
need it, I just picked the name of the nearest plumber, and thankfully he had not left for his first job of the day yet,
so said he would come right away.
True to his word he arrived a few minutes later. When he had surveyed the job in hand,
he was astounded, yes, there was a leak, but what surprised him, was that the previous owner had installed a flexible shower
hose, as the rising mains pipe! He was shocked that we had only one leak, and checked to be sure there were no others. This
meant that it would all need to be replaced, luckily again for us, he had no urgent jobs on for that day, so he agreed to
do our pipework there and then. Replacing the flexible hose with copper piping. When we received his bill, we were shocked
ourselves, it was approximately a quarter of the cost we'd have been charged back home. We made sure we kept his number to
hand for future use!!!
The job done we now could wash up our few bits of dirty crockery, and tidy our things as best
we could, then we went to the local store to buy provisions.
On our return, we sat down, tea in one hand, and pen in
the other, and began to make a list of the most urgent jobs.
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