It’s been one of those days today. I must have run over a nail sometime on the way to or from work yesterday, without noticing, with the result that I had a flat tyre this morning. Fortunately it was only a slow puncture, and the nail was still stuck in situ, so with the help of a friend I was able to pump the tyre back up to a safe drivable pressure and get into work only a bit later than usual. After dealing with the latest crisis on the bid, I took myself off to ETB on the industrial estate for them to replace the tyre. I was very relieved when they said that they would be able to repair the hole in the (fairly new) tyre and that I didn’t need to replace it. And they only charged me £20 which is a whole lot better than a new tyre would have cost.
However, the money I saved on that has already been spent. I’ve got builders in at the moment mending the porch roof which leaks every time it rains. The foreman was inspecting the job at lunchtime, in a downpour, and noticed that one of my drainpipes wasn’t working properly, and that water was splashing onto the wall of the house. I did in fact know that the gutter was overflowing, and had been ignoring it, but he explained to me quite forcibly that it needed fixing, as otherwise I’d ultimately get penetrating damp in my living room, and that would be a major (and expensive) problem. So I agreed that they should just get on with it, and got home from the garage to find all the man-hole covers in my drive open. One of the builders had his arm shoulder-deep into a land-drain, in the pouring rain, excavating a large pile of leaf-mould and gravel. It’s still blocked, around a bend from where he could reach easily, so he’ll be back tomorrow with more tools to have another go at the job.
I’ve also agreed that, since the builders will be here tomorrow doing that and finishing the rebuild of the porch, they should also spend some time up on the roof, fixing slipping and shaled tiles, and doing some “gardening” up there. I’m not so bothered about the moss that is growing on the roof, though apparently it’s not very good for the tiles, but there are several saplings taken root in the ridge tiles which need to be removed.
I’m about to go and put a bottle of white wine in the fridge to chill. After the day’s hassles I could do with a drink with my dinner to help me unwind!
