Tuesday, February 06, 2007

TAPS

TAPS

Aside

We have a great many taps in this house – basins in bedrooms etc, and also a great many doors – all Edwardian and all over eighty years old.  Decorating is rather like the Forth Bridge – or it would be if we did it regularly, we are more spasmodic.  Doors can be ignored on the whole but taps are more troublesome and lately they have started to drip.  No sooner do we get one fixed than another starts.  At present we have four different plumbers helping us out – it mostly happens at the weekend –
And involves trips to the attic and climbs to the lofts.

This morning was a case in point.  No sooner had I sat at the computer in my dressing room – the house is big enough so why not – than a drip started and after my feeble squeeze it turned into a gush of hot water.  Ever conscious of saving the earth thanks to Zoë’s girls (side bar) it had to be fixed.  Incidentally one of the plumbers showed me that you can tell whether the water is coming from the cistern or the mains by inserting your finger and seeing if it stops the flow.  Sadly my finger is not fat enough so I would have been useless at plugging the dyke all those years ago in the Netherlands.

Our today’s plumber fixed the problem and said there was no point in buying new taps as they cost about £100 and were even worse than the old.  No surprise there then.  I love our house – I really do, but it’s not all peaches and cream every day.

Reasons to be cheerful.
The double pink camellia is blooming as is the white see photographs (oh for the skill of Jack or the apprentice – sidebar)  Another pink one is in bud and then there is a pale pink one with a gold centre but they weren’t in the mood to pose The garden is heavy with the fragrance of wintersweet – my favourite scent.  The hellebores are out but hang their heads.
Then there is the cottage which we will visit ( DV ) in May.

13 comments:

rosemary said...

Hello Pat, I have spent the last two hours reading your entire blog...not word for word but it is fascinating....I'm eager to keep on with the story. You have posted some of the most glorious photos I have ever seen.

Pat said...

Rosemary: thank you for yout kind words. It is always gratifying to know that someone has ploughed through the story and not been bored to tears. And I see we have mutual friends:)

Drama Queen said...

Ahh, the Forth Road Bridge. Sorry but I couldn't get too far past that part. That little village, close to and overlooking the Forth is where I originate from. And it’s true the day they stop painting at one end is the same day they have to resume painting at the other. It’s a thankless task and one that they seem to be giving up on these days. What is a shame.

I will go read the rest of your post now. . .

*She says recovering from her bridge daydream*

Pat said...

Hi DQ: another Scottish pal! I always used to feel excitement going north over the bridge and sad coming south.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the compliment, Pat. Your pics look good to me. At first glance, I thought that wonderful thatched roof was yours, and then re-read and saw my error. Beautiful. I'm not doing flowers at the moment: we have about two feet of snow. Not much, really, my wife says.

Pat said...

Jack; I laugh at yout wife's dismissal of 2 feet of snow. Less than two inches has fallen on most of Britain and closed the schools and airports. Not here tho' I'm longing for a bit to build a snowman. You'd think we'd be geared to coping with weather - we get so much of it!

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

Wash basin...sink...in bedrooms? Please tell me you said that. In the older homes in Guyana people put them in their bedrooms too. Our home has, and it's just over 30 years old my mother says. I used to wonder where on earth this 'custom' came from.

Maintaining a home can be quite costly sometimes, we're in the middle of re-doing things in the yard here.

Sam, Problem-Child-Bride said...

Hire yourself a Little Dutch Boy, Pat! Demand is increasing for them and what with sea-levels rising and stuff they're being billeted all round the world to train the locals in dyke-saving.

The ideal Little Dutch Boy will be of a stolid build and temperament. He'll also come with his own iPod so he can while away the long hours of dyke-saving. if you were to hire one for your taps, i'm sure he'd give you a cut rate in gratitude for an indoor job with cups of tea.

Lovely photos, as ever, Pat. I'm enjoying watching Britain through the seasons here.

Pat said...

GG: yes we have them in the bedrooms. Originally there would be marble washstands with a large jug and basin made of decorated pottery. When I stayed with my Gran as a child she would bring the hot water up to my bedroom - no bathroom. But we were very clean.
Nobody has sent a bill in yet!

Sam: you've solved my problem. Now all I have to do is find little Vincent - maybe he could paint in his spare time:)

Monozygote said...

"Sadly my finger is not fat enough so I would have been useless at plugging the dyke all those years ago in the Netherlands."

??! I knew I'd been skimming a bit lately, but I can't believe I missed that installment...

Pat said...

hi Dandelion: MTL said the men would be interested but the women would find it boring!

Monozygote said...

I don't think boring is quite the word I would have chosen...

Pat said...

Dandelion: well it started out as quite a boring subject but now I'm not so sure!