And Now I’ve Got No Hot Water
This is only a small thing in the major scheme of things. But my hot water failed last week!
It appeared that my clothes washer had failed and had somehow buggered the main fuse box or at least the part of it that controlled the gas water heater.
It didn’t matter too much, as I only use hot water for showers and I could have them at my physio or as I did at the weekend at the hotel I stayed in at Plymouth.
The electrician came yesterday and found that Jerry had struck again, in that he’d not connected the electrics properly.
Once that had been sorted, it now appeared that that the cause of the failure wasn’t the washing machine, but the control system of the boiler had shorted. Obviously, at the moment, it was only set to provide hot water, but it does explain how sometimes in the winter, the house could never seem to get the temperature right.
And then guess what! The stand-by immersion heater doesn’t work. It must have failed some years ago, and the tenant and/or the landlord never got round to replacing it.
So never buy a house that has been rented without a full survey on all the electrics too!
Another Use For A Clothes Dryer
I have needed a clothes dryer since I’ve moved in and now that my washing machine decided to go wonky on Tuesday, I needed one urgently. Especially, as I had a load full of wet towels.
So I walked to the nearest shop and bought one, carrying it home in the rain.
A Tightly Packed Addis Clothes Dryer
As you can see it is tightly wrapped in plastic, something I normally don’t like, as I have difficulty unwrapping it.
But it did make an excellent defence against the rain as I carried it home flat on head.
My only regret was that no-one was there to take a photograph, as I crossed the zebra crossing in the pouring rain.
Sadly the clothes dryer collapsed and broke with just two towels on it. So it had a short life and a happy one.
Taxis In The Rain
it is raining hard tonight. But one of the advantages is that I live near the old 641 trolley bus route and taxi drivers still use it as the cut back to the City and Liverpool Street station, as the road is wide. So despite the rain, a guest who was going to a function in the City tonight had no difficulty getting a black cab.
But it’s raining so hard, that I’ve got a slight leak in my glass roof! At least I brought a bucket with me to London.
The Light From IKEA
As I said here, I bought a light and here it is installed by the front door.
IKEA Orgel Vreten Light
It looks good for something that cost just £20.47. It also uses three small SES bulbs. I got three in Sainsburys in Dalston for just £2.99 each. They were 8W Phillips Tornados.
I think that possibly the one from Selfridges may be more elegant, but at £75, it should be.
Sainsburys should be congratulated in pricing energy-saving bulbs at a competitive price. John Lewis are cheaper, but most retailers charge about £4 for this bulb. Especially, as you can buy tunsten bulbs for pound or two in the market next door.
London Is Heaving
There must be something going on in London later in the week.
I was trying to locate some lights for my hall, so I decided to take the Underground to Warren Street and then walk to Selfridges by way of Habitat, Heals, John Lewis and Marks and Spencer.
A couple of years ago I bought some bedside lights from John Lewis, that are touch on and touch off. I would show you a link to their web site, but they are not there, although they were in the Oxford Street store. Here’s a picture of the bedside light.
John Lewis Touchable Table Lamp
They work well and what I want is three tall ones, so that I can place them at strategic points in my hall. And as I walk past in the dark, they will automatically switch on, when I touch them.
In fact, you can play lots of games with this type of concept. Perhaps, when you are out or it is pitch dark, they should switch on and they could text my mobile phone to say that someone was about.
The possibilities of this sort of technology are endless. The text message facility could even be used to locate where you have put your mobile phone. I once had an e-mail from a friend, asking to call his mobile phone, as he’d left it somewhere in his house and couldn’t find it. Like many these days he didn’t have a landline. He does now!
I finally found an elegant tall lamp in Selfridges, but why are there so few?
I can’t be the only person, who when they enter their house in the dark, doesn’t have a light in the hall, that is close to hand. But I have a space between the door and the wall, where I could put such a light.
A Space for a Tall Lamp
Ideally it would be touchable, but a foot switch would be an alternative. Note the switches on the wall. They are for the outside lights, or at least I can’t get them to work any others. At least, I’ve got a suitable powerpoint, but note the cracked plaster above it. Jerry’s electrician didn’t have a clue.
You might argue, why I don’t have a light in the hall? Jerry didn’t put one in to save money and to put one in would mean trunking all over the place as the ceiling is a concrete slab. Wall lights are so naff! And yes, I’ve got lots of really hideous ones, probably bought in some bastion of good design like Fred’s El-Cheapo Lighting Emporium in Dalston Market. Don’t knock that market, as I think, Lord Sugar started his business careeer there.
The trip wasn’t helped by the fact that London seemed to have many more people about than normal. To make matters worse there were lots of smokers lining up outside the shops having a cough and a drag. Some were even sitting on the floor, creating more unseen hazards for people with limited vision. I did think about deliberately falling over a particular well-upholstered couple dragging away with one hand and eating a burger with the other but I decided against it, as I would have hated to have contact with such an awful pair of individuals.
Let’s hope that London gets a little bit less busy as the week goes on. I have a lot of shopping to do!
How Not To Put Up Blinds
The blinds in the living room are broken and haven’t worked since I moved in.
The Best of the Broken Blinds
This picture shows the best of the unuseable blinds.
Yesterday, I decided I’d had enough and decided to take them down.
It wasn’t as easy as it should have been as Jerry or one of his ilk had struck again.
Plugs In a Wooden Batten
Look how in the picture, he’s used plastic plugs to attach the brackets to the wooden batten under the lintel. Consequently, he’s split the batten.
What a Grade A Tosser!
The Latest Example of Jerry’s Handiwork
One of the features of my house is the chocolate-coloured steel beams used to hold up the roof, form the staircase and as a design feature. This picture shows the beam above the windows in my living room.
Steel Beam Above the Window
You will notice what looks to be brass bolts holding the beam up. In fact they are not bolts at all, but crude brass-coloured pads stuck on the beam.
Yet again Jerry has done the cheap and nasty, rather than followed the instructions of the architect. Well I hope so, as if the architect specified foundations in the same way, the house will fall down.
It looks like I’ll be making some special bolts again.
Lots of Naff Lighting
Jerry used cheap and nasty light fittings in this house and I’ve looking for something more stylist.
Yesterday, I walked round several shops in Central London and didn’t see anything that was in the least bit inspiring.
I’ve found this one on the Internet and it looks promising, but I’d like to touch and feel one before I buy.
Ftustrating IKEA
I need some rails and drawers for two built in wardrobes. At present they have some useless fittings that were built by Jerry, the builder.
IKEA do some nice standard fittings, but they don’t come in a width to fit my wardrobes! They are just five centimetres too wide! They make them to fit a range of heights, but why not widths?
It is all so frustrating as getting ones made to fit will cost a fortune and probably won’t be as nice as those from IKEA.
Where Have All the Brass Washers Gone?
I’m in need of some more oversized brass washers to complete the staircase.
Oversized Brass Washers
My supplier has told me, they can’t get any more. I can’t find any on the Internet in the UK either.
The Anonymous Widower 