Gasman

As I said last week I had a telephone call from british gas informing me that the Engineer would be here A.M. on Tuesday, as the time approached 11.45.am. I began to worry but then the phone rang. It was the engineer stating he was in louth some 20 miles away and would be with me in about 30 minutes.
  he duly arrived some 30 or so minutes later and i told him I was beginning to wonder if the call had been genuine as the Man on the phone informed me that the Engineer would be here A.M. The Engineer told me that A.M. means to british Gas until 1.00. pm.  Also his name was not quite the same as the guy on the phone had told me. Remember I did say he was not English and his speech was not so good.
 I must say this, my Sister rung up yesterday and mentioned the guy from British Gas had rung me up but I did have some difficulty understanding him. She immediately told me that her Husband will not speak to anyone who is not english stating he can't understand them and offers the phone to my Sister. I told her I could understand but as I lived alone I had no alternative than to try to understand.
 Anyway the engineer arrived just as I was about to have my dinner, I told him that I would go in the t.V. room and leave him to it. Before I went he told me he would have to go in the loft I told him there was a ladder but my steps were in the garage, he told me not to worry as he had some steps in his large van.
 I had my dinner and he was working merrily away, he told me he had made a bung and it had worked so he didn't have to drain the system at all. Although it was what I call expensive he did tell me that I was given a good deal as the normal charge was just over £350. When he was done he asked me if I had a Carbon Monoxide monitor fitted I told him I had and pointed to it and I told him it was just over a year old and I think it lasted 5 years. He checked it and told me it was guaranteed to last longer than that so I was satisfied especially as it was fitted free with last years Service with Calor.
 He did his paper work, used my toinet as ALL who seem to call here wish to use, then gave me the copy and left soon after. I guess it was a little after 1.30.p.m. More soon.

Gas

Yesterday afternoon I had a call from British Gas informing me that they had received my acceptance for the filter and if it was agreeable they would arrange for an engineer to call next Tuesday. I agreed but in all honesty I did have difficulty in understanding the guy as he was not born in this Country. Also I am going deaf amongst other failings but eventually I got the drift. He told me that the engineer would be calling in the morning and that the operation would take less than 2 hours. So at least that is now settled. Mind you he asked me to pay but told me that it would not be deducted until the work was done. Naturally I paid by credit card. It has certainly come in handy since I have had it.
 I have had communication problems with my Internet Security, the one which was installed by the Man who sold me the computer and set everything up.
 It was a cracking system but getting hold of anyone was more or less impossible. All they kept sending as replies were ticket numbers. This was unacceptable to me and as I had paid up front with no confirmation and I had a few days left I went Online to see what was available. The best according to the scores was a Company called Bullguard. I went and checked it seemed alright so I downloaded
the Antivirus on a 14 day trial. Up popped an offer a few days later offering me a years subscription with Antivirus and Internet security for a greatly reduced price so I investigated it further. It offered a further years protection for another £9. This meant I would be paying just 25 pence a week so I decided to go for that.
 I had been on their site and it is based here in England where my last one was based in Romania. I was invited to chat and after a few minutes told her I would proceed, this was a few days ago with the free trial.
 I went to their site and decided to buy the better security and paid for 2 years protection. It started to download but informed me that first it had to uninstall a programme(it was the free trial) and that I would have to restart the computer so that is what happened.
 When I came to install the programme I found i could not download it so I went to their chat line. I must admit I had to wait about 10 minutes for a lass to answer me but a message told me that there would be someone to talk with soon. I typed in my problem, told them I had uninstalled my old Security  and waited. The reply was short and sweet. The lass had given me a website that I should visit  and that would be that.
 Sure enough I went on the site and it asked me for a password, as I didn't have one I had to ask for a password this took me about 10 minutes to get another password and as soon as I inserted my password the installation began. I guess it took another 10 minutes or so and informed me that I must restart the computer to make sure that the firewall was working. This I did and I checked to see that firewall is on. As I don't use the computer an awful lot I hope this is sufficient for me. By the way it does provide cover for up to 3 computers. More soon.

Wasted my time

I went to the Dental Surgery yesterday but I need not have bothered because the Dentist told ME there was nothing wrong with the dentures and I had to persevere. How he could have said that was somewhat amazing as it was ME who had these denture in my mouth. I tried to tell him that they weren't aligned correctly but he insisted they were.
 Anyway I left with the new dentures in called at the Co-op for some milk and a few bits and made my way home. The weather being dreadful, not only wet but very dark all day. So much so that I produced Zero electricity, not the first time but it is a rare occurrence.
 I noticed that most fields were standing in water as we here have had many days of heavy rain most of the Summer and Autumn. Needless to say my garden is once more waterlogged.
 This morning it was dark and wet but I had to go to the local Post Office to pay something off my Post Office credit card, also I went to the local Surgery to book my 3 monthly Blood test, calling at the bottle bank to dispose a few jars.
 On entering the Post Office I saw quite a few queueing so I had a word with the Proprietor, I asked him how he was getting on and if he knew where everything was. He surprised me by saying he had a Lady coming in to show him where things were and added that he had to give it a go. I then surmised that he was not doing as well as he had hoped. I think it is called Smiths but I will confirm what it is called at a later date.
 At long last it is talking of the weather improving so at last I may be making a little solar electricity.
  I wondered why with the weather being bright I had to have a power cut, for when the power is off, the inverter is shut down so it is not possible to generate any electricity.
 Still the days are getting shorter so I wont be producing much for the next 2 months anyway. More soon.

Calor

Last Friday I ran out of half of gas so I rang Calor up to order a couple of bottles. I generally pull her leg but this time informed her that as the delivery would be here on Monday I might miss the driver as I had an appointment at the dental Surgery. I told her I would pay by direct debit but not to debit it straight away until I transferred enough cash to my account.
 I then told her I was a little concerned as Calor had decided to cease Calor Serve and as they had recently upgraded and refurbished their place I wondered if it was next to close.
 She told me that only one man had left and he was the engineer and that there was going to be no repairs and installations. I thanked her and she confirmed the delivery would be on Monday.
 Luckily enough I was home when the delivery man called, I could hear him taking the empty bottles away and fixing the full ones. I went out and we had a few words, I first said it was very mild but Saturday had been dreadful as we had well over an inch of rain. He told me he was worried on Saturday as he was one of the organisers for Remembrance Sunday but Sunday turned out to be great so all went off well.
 I then mentioned that Calor had decided to withdraw their Calor Serve. He confirmed that all they were doing now was selling Calor Gas and no installations or repairs was available. He told me that the engineer had left and also another female had been made redundant. He told me that she would be leaving just before Christmas. What a shocking Christmas present. More soon.

Dental problems

Yesterday I went to the Dentist for the extraction and final fitting of the dentures.
 I had some idea because of many years with Malcolm my prior Dentist. He told me when I contracted my Colitis that I would have trouble with my teeth for the rest of my life. he then explained what was happening and told me what was happening and that all my minerals were just passing through my body.
 On another occasion while he was checking my teeth, he told me that the anaesthetic would not work if there was infection in the tooth that he was trying to repair or extract. He told me that the anaesthetic was neutralised by the infection. Now to yesterday.
 I sat in the chair and he gave me the anaesthetic, to be honest I suspected that there was some sort of infection because for the last several weeks the loose tooth had been rather painful. He gave it about 5 minutes and told me that it would take no pulling, that bit was true. He put his pincers round the tooth and yanked it out. The pain was like a dagger and I let him know that I had felt it. I didn't tell him just how painful it had been and that now was a dull ache. He confirmed what Malcolm had told me by saying that there might have been some infection there.
 He cleaned where the tooth had been then told me that he was putting some stuff in to stop it from bleeding again and that he would then fit the dentures. He fitted the top set first and they seemed alright. He then fitted the lower set and to be honest they felt awful just as though they were not aligned but I didn't say anything to him as I was still in some discomfort and of course had the anaesthetic which made one side of the mouth numb. He told to pop in if they started to cause some rubbing and I left paying at reception and making my next 6 month appointment.
 I got home about 20 minutes later and immediately took 2 paracetamols and  after about 40 minutes the pain had subsided not to reappear. Another hour passed and the anaesthetic wore off but my mouth with these new teeth was not good. I knew there was no way I could eat anything much so after resting for another hour decided to make some Oxtail soup. I got a bread roll out of the freezer and defrosted it. Making the soup I broke the bread up so that it would be easy to swallow, to be honest I found it very hard to eat the soup.
 Around 6.00.pm. I decided to eat an apple, as they are small I generally have 2 but as normal I peel and core the apple slice them up and eat it. This took me 15 minutes. I came to the conclusion that the bottom set of dentures were no good at all. I had an experiment to check first I removed the lower dentures and inserted my old lower set, immediately I felt mush better so I did the second experiment. I removed the new upper set and place it with my old set, I then removed my old set from the lower and replaced them with the new set. Once more it was dreadful so now I knew that the lower set was not suitable.
 By now I had a chunk off bitten off my gums and my mouth in general was very sore, not where my tooth had been extracted though. I went to bed sleeping fitfully as my mouth was tender.
 This morning I rung up the Dental Surgery but got no reply so eventually went to the Surgery which is about 15 miles round trip. I saw the receptionist , told her a brief synopsis of what had happened and she booked me in as an Emergency next Monday. Good job I had my old dentures to fall back on.
 Today I had my dinner that I had prepared for yesterday, mince with potatoes, cabbage carrots and swede, all of which were well cooked and I managed to eat it all up. Gradually my mouth is getting better. More soon.

Surestop

I had a phone call early yesterday, it was from the plumber who is fitting the surestop system. He asked me if he could call in the afternoon, of course I said yes. Mind you he had to repeat his question several times as I didn't understand him at all. To be honest i thought it was someone talking a foreign language. It was not until he spoke slowly that I got the message. I wonder if I am getting like my late mother, she used to tell me she hated answering the phone, I certainly don't like the phone to ring.
 He rang up again in the afternoon saying he would be here in about 20 minutes as he was leaving Spilsby. It was nice to see him again but he was rather untidy, not with the plumbing side but on making a mess  and he was asking me if I had several things, such as an old towel, a light which I had a lantern battery also he used paper towels like they are going out of fashion. He went to his Van and told me it was a mess, he certainly wasn't talking rubbish but on the plumbing side I could not fault his work. I asked him if he fitted many of them and he replied that he had to fit 3 of them tomorrow. I told him that I had never heard of them until British Gas had left me a leaflet and wondered why they are not fitted to new properties as a standard fitting. He did say that some Council Houses fit them.
 Of course he left the doors wide open and with my heating being on it was wasting my money.
 The lad who was getting off the bus came and I suggested he come back when he had changed which he did about 20 minutes later. He had a good look at what the plumber was doing then asked me if he could go on the computer. I naturally said yes. He wanted to  show me what he was getting for Christmas, it was an I Pad. Of course I didn't understand much of what he was telling me but he did say that when he gets it he will show mw.
 I kept popping out to see how the plumber was getting on and he told me all was going well. The lad soon after left to go back home and the plumber tested the new surestop then he ran the cold tap water for several minutes stating me was flushing out the flux. He used that because he was doing the fittings the old way flux and solder. He made a good job of it.
 I guess it took him well over an hour to complete the job. He insisted that I try the system out and of course he checked to see all the cold water taps worked. They did. More soon.

Yesterday

yesterday it was a little icy firt thing but turned out to be a sunny morning only to cloud up later in the day.
 As the Lad from next door asked me to help him only to tell me that in the morning he had a visitor and that we could do a little in the afternoon I decided to go to get my Pension and do my shopping.
 On my way to get my money, I noticed the first casualty of the Winter period, a car being in the ditch on the main A52.
 I was careful how I drove and went to the refurbished Post office to get my money, to be honest I was not that impressed as it was the same size and the waiting times I presume will only get longer.
 I went to get my shopping done and got back home. As I had managed to do all reasonably quickly I then decided to have my hair cut, so off I went to Alford, of course I forgot it was Market day and Auction Day too, it is this what brings in the crowds so I hd difficulty in parking.
 Off I went to the Barbers and sat to wait for my turn which was not long in coming. Another Man walked in and immediately informed me that he had only come in to stop him from bidding at the Auction as he was a compulsive buyer. He then said the Auctioneer asked him if he wanted several boxes for a £. I could well believe this for as I was walking to the Barbers I passed by where they were auctioning off lotts and I heard the Auctioneer say this. " Who will give me £3 with no offers he dropped it to £2 then to a £ but by then I had turned the corner so didn't know if he got any bids at all or even know what was for auction.
 I got back home around 11.25.am. so prepared my dinner, just as well necause I had no sooner finished when the door bell rang, it was the lad. As I was washing my dishes he asked me what I had for dinner as he had just had his.
 Off we went round to his place, I think I told you prior he had asked me if I would help him with his bit of garden.
 When we got round he wanted to take all up but I disappointed him by saying that the leeks were in good order, well about a dozen of them anyway but the brussel plants were not good, also the runner bean plants were done so I dug them up, he had bought a garden fork and a hoe, I asked him to get a rake.  To be honest it was me that did all the digging, he used the hoe to move the weeds. Eventually I took the rake and showed him what he had done or not done as he had left all the weeds in and when I ran the rake over I showed him what to do with the weeds. He filled his compost bin but he was much happier when I had tidied up his garden. I then dug over a piece near the hedge and told him that this would be ideal for a few runner and broad beans next year.
 He showed me the greenhouse which he had completely emptied and made it ready for some more fresh soil.
 by the time I left it was getting dark, mind you just as well we did this work yesterday for today it has not stopped raining and beside that it is cold too. Needless to say my garden is waterlogged once more and to make matters worse the weathermen keep saying it has been a dry season. They want to come to the |East Coast and see for themselves. More soon.

AUTUMN IS HERE

These last couple of days have been cold, yesterday was the first time in a while we saw the sun so that was most welcome, however today was not so great. At first we had a little hazy sun but gradually it became clouduier.
 This morning I noticed that my Bramley cooking apples had started to fall from the tree so I decided to pick the rest. I was quite surprised because I had about 1/2 a shopping bag full. I then had to take of the netting which had protected the apples from the blackbirds. By the time I had finished I was cold and when I looked at the outside temperature it didn't surprise me at the reading, just 5c. I took about 3lb. of apples round next door and they told me a little about the holiday, it seems as if it was a little too hot for them but the lad certainly enjoyed it going scuba diving and a speedboat ride being his highlight.
 A couple of days ago I finished the last of my marrows so I was well satisfied with what I had off them. I also have more or less finished my runner beans, I guess a couple of days will see them out. I have managed my aim which is to eat fresh runner beans till the end of october. With this year lasting I have been eating them since late July. Definitely the best value for money for growing your own vegetables.
 While I was at the dentist getting measured for the final fitting and extraction I decided to call at the local warehouse to pick up a 12.5 kilo of potatoes. Two reasons for the size, the first is that I find it very hard to lift 25 kilo bag and the second is that if I had a large bag the potatoes would start to chit way before I finished the bag. I do, however have enough potatoes for just about a week, so I must admit I am disappointed with the result of my labours. This was entirely to the dreadful wet year we have had on the East Coast. Mind you the weather men keep saying it has been a dry time, not here though.
 Finally I saw a colleague who noticed me wearing my Railway overalls and we became friendly. He saw me yesterday and told me that he will be leaving at the end of the year. I asked him if it was compulsory but he said to me that he had decided to leave because his Wife was not in the best of health and she had put up with him working mornings for the past 9 years. I didn't ask his age but I can guess he is 74. Time enough for him to pack up work. More soon.

Yes. But!!

yesterday afternoon around 2.00. pm. the phone rang, it was the delivery men so I told them I would be outside to meet them.
 On arriving he looked and shook his head, I asked him what the trouble was and he informed me that there was no way this sofa would fit via the front door. I let him know that I had another dorr on the side. He had a quick look and let me know that although they would try he doubted if that would be wide enough too. I finally told him I had another door which had been french windows but I had them altered. His associate had a quick look and assured him that if they could get the sofa round the rear of the property it would go in.
 The first thing they had to do was take off the top rail of the outside door so that they could lift the sofa over a large water storage barrel. This took well over 20 minutes but they eventually managed to get the sofa at the back door. When they tried to get the sofa in the Boss said to hs mate that they would have to take off the restraining bar off, this is to stop the door flying too far and damaging the hinges.
 It didn't take that long and I have all the usual tools handy just for my mate when he does jobs for me. Anyway it went in with some difficulty but I have a Patio door leading from my T.V room  and this is where I wished it to go. Unfortunately the Patio Door was not quite wide enough so the Boss had to take the restraining bits off the frame, it was then that they tried to get the sofa in. It was a tight fit but with some manhandling they managed to get the sofa in situ.
 I then suggested that I make a cup of tea for them, well I didn't make the tea, I mashed it in a teapot and left the sugar and  milk handy and if they wanted some sweeteners  they were also there.
 It was while the Boss was having a drink that I asked him if he owned the Business, he  let me know he did and unfortunately this sort of thing happened several times a year. I did say that his warehouse was out the way and he readily agreed and he told me he had been looking for new premises for quite some time but nothing was on the market. He did mention that when Quick Save was open, incidentally it was just about 20 yards away, he told me he had quite a bit of passing trade but the place, he thought was owned by George(ASDA) but it was up for sale at £5m. He told me originally ASDA had thought of opening a store there. Unfortunately for him that will not happen as Aldi will soon be opening a store there and with morrison's Tesco and Lidl there already there will not be room for a further Supermarket.
 Of course they had now to put together all what they had taken apart which took a quite a while. Incidentally the easy chairs went in easily, they are not the most expensive chairs but as I only use them occasionally they will definitely last me my lifetime no matter how long I live.
 Eventually they left and both of them shho my hand, the Boss mentioned that if I ever wanted my carpets cleaned his colleague was the man, incidentally the came in his van for the Boss told me he was still having trouble with his van.
 By the time they left it was just before 3.30. pm. and as I have been under the weather for a couple of days I was thankful all had gone well.
 I was sitting down this afternoon when the door bell rang, it was the lad from next door, they had just got back from mexico, it was nice to see him and he told me what a great time he had, the trouble is that he wants to tell you all so quickly but I will get to know all. He did show me a T.shirt he bought, I also gave him the hand fork which he thanked me very much and then told me he would put his name ion it and when he left he would take all with him.
 He didn't stay long and I did say to him that he would go to bed early tonight, he agreed as it is tiring travelling all that distance. More soon.