Why can't Life be Straighforward?

Some weeks seem to degenerate into chaos. This week has been a perfect example.

I had purposefully tried to keep the week as free as possible, so that the necessary preparations could be done before we go away on holiday.

Car - check tyre pressures, oil level, water in radiator, water in screen washer etc.

Clean car inside and out.

Pack suitcases (and assorted goods to donate to ARCAS Arran Charity Shop.)

Mow Lawns - (so they are not like a jungle when we get back!)

Cancel Papers and Milk.

Purchase food for self catering, and dog food for Ruby.

Put some money on my mobile phone.

Charge batteries on camera, camcorder and mobile phone.

Sort out timer switches and set for lighting during the evening. etc. etc. etc.

Leave keys with neighbours

Then, as they say, the best made plans of mice and men..............

So let's go back to last Sunday morning.

I turned the organ on and hey presto I had instant bagpipe sounds! Notes were playing all on their own as if by magic! Fortunately this was only on one of the rows of keys so I could manage to play for the service on the other two rows of keys, in a sort of limited fashion. The was another problem though.  I have a wedding to play for on Friday at 12.00 noon, and then, lo and behold. I opened the weekly news sheet to discover that the Bradford and District Association of Organists had decided to have their Annual Recital at All Saints on the day following the wedding!

Frantic phone calls to the organ tuner. Reply "I'm up to my neck in work dismantling an organ in Sheffield. The only time I could come would be one evening, and the state of the organ I can't promise anything." Frantic phone call to the Organists Association to tell them of the state of the organ and a promise to get back in touch after the wedding I will (hopefully) be playing for on the organ on Friday.

My deputy is playing the following two Sunday services So a quick phone call to him to alert him of the possibility that he might be playing on the electric piano! - and a promise to get back in touch with him after the wedding I will (hopefully) be playing for on the organ on Friday.


Phone call - can you play for a funeral at Nab Wood on Monday?
 
Another phone call- can you play for a funeral at Nab Wood on Wednesday?
 
Another phone call- can you play for a funeral at Nab Wood on Thursday morning?
 
Another phone call - "I'm the vicar of St Margaret's Frizinghall, I got your number from Rev Stuart Hacking. Can you play for a funeral on Thursday afternoon?"
 
Oh! and did I tell you I am playing for a wedding on Friday at 12.00 noon (assuming the organ has been fixed!)
 
Roll on Saturday when I will be away from it all for a week or two. at least that is if the CalMc Ferries are running!
 
Just to cap it all I have been on their website, and the Ardrossan - Brodick ferry was cancelled for all the sailings yesterday due to the high winds, and today two further sailings were cancelled. I don't fancy having to row, or swim across!

Mick the Merry Sewer Cleaner

Well the much awaited for drain clearing vehicle finally arrived this morning at about 10.00am.

Two wonderful characters called Nimmy & Mick appeared. (Mick was your typical Irishman - Irish brogue so thick you could cut it with a knife, totally laid back, and happy with his work of clearing the "you know what" from the sewer) He took great pride in his work, and explained in great detail what was in the sewer and what he had to do to clear it.

After first using a narrow low pressure hose to no effect, he decided he would use the thicker, higher pressure hose, and with a cry of "Watch out for blowbacks!" he turned up the pressure.  There were great gurglings and swooshing sounds, much sludge spewing out of the inspection chamber and down the next door but ones drive, but no signs of the blockage clearing.

He then resorted to rods and explored every nook and cranny of the insepction chamber, before coming up with loads of entangled "Wet Wipes"

"To be sure," he said , in his thick Irish Brouge, "Them's yer problem!" He then continued to "rod" every pipe he could find explaining. "Dis'll shift de Buggers!"

More high pressure hose work and suddenly "SWOOSH!!" and the sewer was clear.

A high pressure jetting of the next door and next door but ones drives, followed by a liberal spreading of disinfectant, and Mick and his mate went on their merry way.

There's a Strange Smell Round Here!

I don't want to put you off your meal, but the picture above is of raw sewage! Why on earth, you are probably asking, have I put this picture there?

Well, lets go back a litle bit in time. ( By the way, it's not our raw sewage!!!)

As regular readers of my blog will know, we had a new kitchen fitted a little while ago, and this involved all the necessary plumbing and pipe work fitting as well. All has gone well, except for the last few days I have noticed a strange gurgling sound as the dregs of the sink emptied.

So this morning after I had taken her ladyship to the hair salon I said I would investigate the gurgling. It just happened to be in the midst of a torrential downpour! The first thing I noticed was that the drain outside the kitchen seemed to be full and almost overflowing, so I took the grate off it and proceeded to proddle down it with a long crowbar. Five minutes proddling produced no tangible results, so I lifted the sewage inspection cover, because the water from the kitchen drain drains into this.

I got quite a surprise as the inspection chamber was almost full to overflowing with baby wipes, disintigrating toilet paper and lots of other associated goodies!

The inspection chamber is between two and three feet deep and there was no way I was going to be able to unblock it, so I rang for a drainage clearing company to come and rod it out and high pressure clean it.

Thirty minutes later, and with little success the drainage cleaning guy informed me that he was unable to clear the blockage due to a) the amount of it, and b) the fact that the pipe was blocked at least two houses up and two houses down from ours. He had lifted their insepction covers and found they too were just about to overflow!

He told me that he had been back to a house further up the road twice to unblock their drains, and it was suspected that the adjoining property were flushing non disposable nappies down the toilet.

He suggested I call Environmental Health. I did, and reported the information I had been given, pointing out that we had a health hazard on our hands. The gentleman who took my message promised that, "We will be out within 24 hours."

I suggested that he might like to try and make that sooner or he may be wading up a drive covered with brown sausages!

Our next door neighbour has two children under 3 years old and he has also been in touch with Environmental Health. Demanding that something is done about it very quickly. I've got to say I don't hold out much hope!