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Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Chooseday!...

FUNDING
Some things just make me mad! How many stupid things can happen in one day? Well if you rely on funding from different bodies for different things, like we do, you wouldn't believe just how many unfinished issues surface in any given space of time. Take Nicola's lift for example, she had the thru-floor lift replaced last summer and because it cost thousands of pounds, we had to get funding. The funding itself took about two years to find from start to finish of project and at the end of the day we/she don't/dosen't own the lift. That's ok, we don't need to own it, just to be able to use it is a godsend and we sincerley thank the powers that be for their generosity!
PROBLEM
However, there is one little teeny-weeny nagging problem with the new machinery and that is that it makes a buzzing noise at night. In fact it makes the noise all day too but it sounds worse at night when you're trying to get to sleep. The noise apparently is coming from the transformer and sounds like a tape player that's been left on for some time.
SOLUTION
The solution is very simple. Simply switch it off before you go to bed! Easier said than done, you see the on/off switch is located in the front room downstairs. So, just go down and turn it off! I hear you scream. Not so simple I'm afraid, you see the switch is a couple of inches from the ceiling and my walls are nine feet high. So, why don't you move the switch upstairs? Well, that's what I've been trying to organise since day one! Which brings us full circle back to the problem with/of funding. You see, because the lift wasn't paid for by us and we are not the owners of it anyway, we only have to live with it under our roof making a right racket all day and night. No-one seems to care.
OCTOBER
An electrician finally came out to do the job in October, which wasn't too bad as we had only been waiting since July. He hummed and harred and scratched his head and lifted the carpet and looked at the floorboards. He went for a little walk and made three phone calls and scratched his head again and put the carpet back and packed up his tools. Finally, he spoke to me, 'You need to get a joiner to lift the floorboards, I'd do it meself, only if anything went wrong it's more than me job's worth!' After making his speech he headed for the front door and I/we haven't seen him since.
BOILER
Last year must have been a good year as far as funding goes as we finally managed to have our twenty-five year old gas boiler replaced. Well, if you think that I think that the lift is noisey, then you really don't want to know about the new boiler. It works fine, as far as it goes... The only trouble is that it makes a proverbial 'right racket' from the moment you turn it on. Again, we've been patiently waiting for an engineer to come and take a butchers. After a couple of months an inspector arrived on the scene and informed us that the noise was unacceptable. Well, believe it or not, we had already figured that one out. Fine, I said to the nice man (he was a nice man) so what needs doing. 'You need an electrician.' The nice man replied.
OCTOBER AGAIN
The above conversation also took place last October, what is it about October? Well, suffice to say, it is now early January and we still haven't seen an electrician in this house. The noise increases by the day as do the number of telephone calls we make to the suppliers and installers. But, guess what? they have a little book of excuses and it must be about twenty pages long, if that's the case they should be very close to the end by now. Anyway, we or should I say Nicola, only qualifies for this level of funding because she needs it to live independently. And if different bodies can make these things possible, then surely they can also provide the back-up to make sure that these things are suitable for her needs! Or am I barking up the wrong drainpipe again?

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