Bad start to the week

For once, I slept in a bit this morning - I didn't wake up until 7:15 am. I was still tired and would have liked to roll over but I remembered that the fitter was arriving at 8 am for his second attempt to install our new boiler, so up I got. It was a bit of a struggle - I had been bitten by some little beastie yesterday on the golf course and my forehead swelled up. At bedtime, I had taken a precautionary anti-histamine pill and I'm not sure whether it was the bite or the pill that made me tired and drowsy.

The fitter came in and went round the house checking everything out - in the attic, bathrooms etc - something the surveyor had failed to do. When he got to our en suite and saw our shower, he casually remarked "that won't work after the new boiler goes in". "What?!!!" says I. "That's right - the new boiler will bust the seals of the shower"!

Nobody - not the salesman, nor the surveyor, nor even the fitter when he'd been here on Thursday - had mentioned this possibility to us before. I immediately regarded it as a deal-breaker, whereupon the fitter phoned his boss, who then spoke to me. He disagreed with his fitter, but did admit it was a possibility, but we shouldn't worry as, if that happened, he would replace the shower cartridge. I asked for this promise in writing and duly got it, but this second cock-up/miscommunication had unsettled me, so I decided we needed to check the exact details of what he was going to do.

The first question was what was the power output of the boiler? 29kw he said. I checked the contract and it said 35 kw was to be provided. Now I was really unsettled - three strikes and they're out. The fitter's boss got on the phone again, protesting about me stopping the work being completed, but he eventually accepted my reasons for taking a step back.

So, we've put it off until we come back from holiday - and we're going to check out another supplier.

We were disappointed, but felt we had to err on the cautious side. The only slight upside was that I could now join the Monday afternoon cycle - and I did.

Ross came round late morning - he no longer works at Tease, but had started work at Buchanan's Bistro at Woodend Barn on Thursday and wanted to explain to us what happened. Of course, it's not nearly so convenient for him to get there, but, having myself acquired my "new" bike on Friday, I was able to offer him my old one to help him get to work. A little bit of extra exercise won't do him any harm anyway.

The weekend's weather was lovely again, but a change is afoot. We got rain this afternoon and more is forecast for tomorrow. Ah well, it was nice while it lasted.

We got our flu jabs early on Saturday morning and I went to Pittodrie to watch the Dons in the afternoon, before heading to the Masons' house for a lovely dinner on Saturday night, but I'm afraid I don't have the stamina any more to stay up after midnight, especially after a giant meal and lots of booze. The following day is always a bit of a struggle - although I did manage a game of golf in the morning, but after that, I had no energy.