Tuesday 24 September 2013

There was a small flood

in Downunder yesterday.
Oh yes we had been having a little trouble with the cistern. The Senior Cat thought he had fixed it a couple of weeks ago. In all fairness to him it did seem that way.
And then....well I am sure I don't need to explain. At least it was just an overflowing cistern and not something much worse.
       "Where's the card for the plumber?" he wanted to know, "It should be on the 'fridge."
Of course it is not on the fridge. He has "put it away tidily" - somewhere. We have not found it.
Now there are of course plenty of plumbers but the one he is referring to is the plumber who put in the new hot water system last year. The Senior Cat and I were very pleased by that. It was a major and rather complicated job and this man did it with a minimum of fuss. He was also very reasonable in his charges.
I remember the name of the plumber and suggest he looks for the number in our small telephone book - the one with the numbers we use. Right. No. Not there.
"Look under ... " I suggest and give him the name of the man who did the repairs and painting to the back pergola. He recommended the plumber. Yes, it is there. The Senior Cat wonders how I knew that but I have some idea how the Senior Cat's logic works.
He phones the plumber at 8:01am.
"I'll be out there later this morning."
Right.  I mop the floor again.
"You'll be lucky," someone else says when he calls in.
No, he does not get there in the morning. He does arrive just after twelve.
"Sorry I'm late. Had a bit of a problem at the previous job."
We leave him to it. I know he will need to turn the water off and, as always in such situations, am thankful we have tank water as well.
He bangs and clatters and flushes and walks backwards and forwards more times than I care to count.
"Almost there," he says at last.
I put the kettle on.
Eventually he finishes. It is past 2:00pm. Yes, he would appreciate a cup of tea.
"Sandwich?" I ask, "I can do cheese or egg?"
There is a slight hesitation and then he says, "Yes please. That other job this morning was an emergency. I haven't had breakfast yet."
I don't know what made me do it but I am glad I asked.

4 comments:

jeanfromcornwall said...

Workmen like that are beyond price, and deserve everything we can do for them! You are lucky to have his number.
Now go and put that1 number in at least three different places in the house phone book!

Miriam said...

I'm glad Downunder has dried up, as I'm sure you never will! Finding something interesting to write about every day would be an impossible chore for me.

catdownunder said...

It is also on one of those ubiquitous fridge magnets Jean!
Miriam you are, in my book, a regular blogger - as you will see when you read the next post!

catdownunder said...

It is also on one of those ubiquitous fridge magnets Jean!
Miriam you are, in my book, a regular blogger - as you will see when you read the next post!