Earthmover and excavator master Dan brought his toys over yesterday afternoon. Madame cat was fascinated by these vehicles in our midst. Dan's arrival this morning just after six-thirty was apparent by the unmistakable throaty roar of his rather large truck. And that's when the fun started.
Our man Dan hadn't even put the teeth of his machines into the ground when disaster struck. Attempting to give a recalcitrant post a subtle nudge, all that happened was the bursting of the water main, which was hard up against the offending post. Great start.
Dan was annoyed. A spreading stream was heading down the lane. Michael rang the Emergency line, only to be placed in a queue. At seven-thirty in the morning? Eventually, he spoke to an actual person within the chambers of the Water Corporation, who assured us help was on its way. Within two hours. We turned off the water.
Two and a half hours, when we left to go to the dentist, the water wizards had not yet arrived. Leaving the situation in the capable hands of Dan, we headed north to begin the process of building Michael a new front tooth.
En route, a car pulled out in front of us without warning. Michael was already anxious and cursed. The aforementioned car then slowed down to well under the speed limit. Michael decided to pass safely going down a long straight hill. After we returned to the left with no issues, a police vehicle performed a swift U-turn and issued Michael with a speeding ticket. Bollocks.
Once in Northam, I deposited Michael into our dentist's care. He endured a fairly unpleasant hour, having the steel "peg" screwed into the middle of his top jaw. I retrieved his slightly shattered body and left him reading the paper in the air-conditioning whilst I careered around the supermarket.
Liquid or very soft foods on the menu for a couple of weeks did not really help his demeanour. On our way home, we stopped in York for a very late lunch. He declared his spearmint milkshake to be delicious. Much to my surprise, I chose an extremely unfattening beetroot, pumpkin, feta and quinoa salad. With an iced coffee chaser.
Michael's spirits lifted, we headed for home. Ten minutes out of Beverley, he became concerned about a stitch he could feel. And his pain had increased. Once home, I gave him painkillers, an ice block to suck and a lie on our bed. He did eventually drop off for a late afternoon siesta.
This evening, I created a smooth and exceedingly tasty omelette for our dinner. Then pudding and ice cream. An alcohol-free night to boot. Michael now has three thousand good reasons not to smoke (the gap after health insurance).
If all goes to plan, we will have a new house and Michael's new tooth in about three months. Now there are a couple of milestones to add to the excitement of our lives.
And the water main has been fixed.
Dan's toy 1...
Our "greens" pile.
Madame Cat and excavator.
Becoming more friendly.
Parting is such sweet sorrow....
Dan the man and the bloody water main.
The flood spreadeth.
Source of the problem.
Then - a miracle!
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a cleared and dry building site.
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