Sunday 21 September 2014

Musing



I had a call on Thursday from the landlord's lassie.  She informed me he was arriving about three to look over the property.  This was kind of her as it gave me a couple of hours to hoover, clean, wash, scrub, and hide all the faults that I ought to have fixed, mended, repaired and painted long ago, indeed a very long time ago!  I must say he is a good landlord and his staff are excellent, I have no complaints there, but this year little has been done that ought to be done as I have been too busy!
Naturally he did not arrive although I had my excuses laid out for him.  
He has the eyes of a hawk and would see all the faults I have kindly hidden and he would not see the work I have done in maintenance, because it aint been done!  ooer!  I assumed he may come therefore on Friday so I took evasive action, wandered down to the bus station and got on the first bus to arrive. This at a time when I would rather have spent the day sleep after my exertions of the day before! However it was good to get the bus pass out and drive past fields of green, with a mist in the distance, or was it a house on fire, not to sure.  I wandered about the bits of boring Chelmsford that I had not been bored by before, and this without a camera to picture the one or two old and interesting buildings, mostly Victorian, that survive in the badly rebuilt town. The motor car has led to the pedestrianisation of the centre of town, which is fine, but there are dual carriageways running next too them which is less attractive, especially as old streets and buildings have been demolished for the important vehicle.  This may be practical but is not enhancing the city.  Some towns have managed to improve themselves even with an increase in vehicles and selfish drivers but far too many have knocked down good buildings for roadways.  It is not an attractive place now, practical but boring.
Of course as I returned footsore and weary he had not visited.  I might check tomorrow if I need to urgently visit Colchester!


Saturday at the museum began well.  The thunder and lightning overhead shook the house during the night and as I prepared my good looks in the morning the rain thundered down also as lightning continued to reverberate all around.  As I arrived the Big Boss grumpily let me in and muttered something about alarms.  Indeed the lightning had switched off all the alarms, knocked out the town clock (he is responsible for the Town Hall also) and rain flooded their basement.  In his hurry to be in several places at once, and having been up half the night with all this, he forgot he had the only key to the light switches.  We therefore had a dark museum, not fire alarms, and a kids event to run.  This had to be cancelled at the computers and photocopier all failed also. 
I wandered about switching on anything that worked but the young lass was afraid to move through the darkened museum to open some of the locked doors, until the torch on her iphone was used to guide her as she ran through! Just as well we got it all going as by eleven we were busy for a while.  How nice to meet interesting people and kids who don't wish to go home as they enjoy what they are finding.  
Tonight I realised my ansafone was also dead because of the storm.  I should have closed down the laptop during it as lightning landing nearby once killed the old modem in my first PC and led to me being ripped of in my ignorance of such things.  



.

4 comments:

Lee said...

I'm shaking in my shoes here! Don't! Please! Please! Don't take off his leash! See....I've made a comment...it may not be one of world-breaking, world-worthy import, but I have made a comment!!!!!

Carol said...

In Australia, a landlord must give 7 days notice of a routine inspection. And they are responsible for doing maintenance. Pity you didn't have your camera. Perhaps another time.

Jenny Woolf said...

So many towns were wrecked to benefit the car in the 1960s. I bet the people who ordered the knocking down those old houses didn't want to live in what was built in their place!

Adullamite said...

Lee, Hmmm I may maker use of him again then.

Carol, They give notice here, but he is a good landlord, and I know now why he cometh, the neighbour has been complaining about things falling apart! I'm OK mind.

Jenny, Chelmsford is a dull place now.