Slow progress

September 2020

The highlight of the year so far has been a visit from Lola II and Mr M, bringing not just themselves but gifts - home grown edible nasturtiums from Mr M, Lola II cooked delicious vegan gyoza dumplings, and the fun and games that come with any visit from those two. I had planned Sunday lunch at a pub that is a significant walk away, which turned out to be a bit too significant because I broke both Lola II and Mr M and we had to stop on the walk back a bit earlier than expected for coffee and cake.

Apart from that they survived the privations of my cold house (luckily the weather was still very warm) and the shower situation, which seems to be scheduled to continue until the end of time. The Flfs returned, and Flf 1 was Not Happy about the state of the wall, even though the damp man had guaranteed that it would be OK. They put in the floor tray and did the first stage of the floor levelling, and will come back next week to level some more and put the board over the wall that Flf 1 is Not Happy about. This is all taking an age because the tiler can't come until the end of October and there will be more finishing off to do after that.

And my Lady Gardener has left me - she said she was sorry but her other responsibilities mean she has to give up some of the gardening. I am going to have to 'prune' the wisteria myself - I might just take it down to waist height and see if it survives. In fact I'd be perfectly happy to do that to every shrub out there if it wasn't so much work.

On the positive side (at least I hope it's positive) the pub next door is about to open up again. The beer garden gradually filled with junk, and then all the junk went and tables appeared, and there have been signs in the window saying 'opening soon' for ages, and then I discovered via Facebook that it's tonight (Friday). So I am obliged to show my face although I really don't want a drink because I am starting a week's Buddhist retreat tonight.

Buddhist retreats used to be where you got away from it all to some remote place without a phone signal or wifi and concentrated on other things for a while. The program was always fairly minimal - meditation before breakfast, a short morning session, a short afternoon session and sometimes an hour in the evening, sometimes not, and in between you could sit, walk, read, ponder, all in wonderful peace and quiet.

Now the sessions are online and I'm at home in between sessions, so I'm going to have to find some way of recreating the feeling of 'away from it all' despite not having taken time off work and having a few other necessary responsibilities. So I'm only going to check essential email once a day, phone messages and texts twice a day, and on the computer only for working. At least I'll be at home for the plumbers.

A short break

Badgell's Wood, September 2020

Well, the damp man returned and reassured me that the plumbers could proceed, but for the next 10 days I was due to be at work and then away for my last camping trip of the season. Then the plumbers notified me that the tiler they recommend can't fit me in until late October. I've asked for them to finish everything else as soon as possible in case of more hitches on the rocky path to wet room bliss. No word of response to my plea so far. This has become a familiar pattern, but I'm getting very used to showering in the bath.

My camping trip was a response to the lack of other holiday options, and once I'd settled on the dates I invited others to join me, but they weren't available. I also chose the campsite to be in the home locality of a friend that I hoped to meet, but said friend was also away at the time. So I prepared myself for one of my solitary holidays, and spent a lot of the time reading meditation books and doing meditation, and walking and a bit of cooking and eating. The weather was absolutely perfect throughout, and the campsite shower was better than my shower options at home. I did meet a friend for lunch, and went to the cinema for the first time since Covid - on Friday just after lunch there were only 3 of us in the screening, so it didn't feel too risky.

Badminton still hasn't started up for me, although other clubs that play in a leisure centre have returned. Both my clubs meet in school halls, and schools are just trying to work out how to keep their students safe and manage all the requirements without wanting to worry about extra people on site, so there's no sign that we'll be back for a while yet. I continue to run for about 35 minutes up to three times a week, so I won't be completely unfit should we ever play again. I arranged a socially distanced picnic at the weekend with the Monday club, so at least we still recognise one another.

Trosley Country Park, September 2020

Damp men

Dlf 4, August 2020

It seems I've done quite a lot of stuff since the last update - been on a train, borrowed a library book, met the new pub landlord (or tenant), spent time with Buddhists on Zoom, spent time with family and friends in real life... and a whole lot more LTRP activities.

The train experience was not too bad, except that about half the people on each train were not wearing masks - at one point I moved away from a particularly rowdy group. Borrowing the library book involved browsing the catalog online, choosing the book and then being telephoned by someone from the library to arrange a time for collection, when it was there waiting for me. The pub landlord, or possibly tenant, seemed like a nice chap and was happy to talk but there has been no visible activity since we spoke, so the pub remains closed.

I drove over to see mum and dad and set up a computer for dad to use, and then drove on to Cambridge with Lola II and Mr M and we camped in the garden of our friends. The weather was very wet and windy on the first night - my tent was fine but Lola II and Mr M's tent is poorly designed and some water got in, making the night a little uncomfortable. The second night was better. We did a lot of walking and had lunch outside a pub and played board games and watched a film, and it was nice to see friends again even if we had to bend the rules with four households sitting indoors.

The LTRP is not going all that well. The front door replacement was fine though, and I now have a doorbell again, a fancy door number attached to the wall, a chain, and a spyhole at a height that allows me to look through it without having to jump. They also replaced a broken hinge on a different window, and were generally a delight to work with.

Less delightful has been the water-based activity. Dlf 4 applied the damp-proof membrane to the inside of the walls and then came and rendered on top of it, which produced a powerful and obnoxious smell in the porch for days. He was back a week later to skim the final plaster surface, and then Dlf 5 was the last damp man to turn up to replace the skirting on the newly plastered and skimmed wall in the porch.

The plumbers are having a more difficult time, what with the lack of any straight edges or right angles, and accidentally running into a gas pipe, and getting some decorative tiles that are not the ones I asked for, and having to find a different electrician when the first one disappeared on holiday. Then they peeled back a little of the damp-proof membrane in the wet room and found that the bricks behind it are saturated - not just the sort of damp that you suspect so you check using a damp meter, more the sort of damp that fish enjoy. So the Flfs aren't happy applying plasterboard over the top of it, and so far the damp men have not called me back to arrange to come and take a look, and Flf 1 has had to put off the tiler twice so far, and I am still showering in the bath.