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Archiver > YORKSGEN > 2000-09 > 0968549188


From: "Jean Spence" <>
Subject: Re: NONGEN This week on the building site.
Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2000 10:56:28 +0930


Loved this one Jane, in true "yes minister style" .

I started reading this out to my husband and found it hard to do for
laughing because it makes the problems of a similar nature he has just had
at the hospital where he is their maintenance man pale into insignificance
by comparison. However he understands only too well where you are coming
from.

I work there also and some of my colleagues have been wading in water
(particularly the laundry lady), while he organised solving the problem. We
are still having to walk round a cage which should be covering the hot water
system etc. as he has this dug up and is waiting for it to be re-filled and
hopes the problem has been fixed.

It doesn't seem to matter where you live these days, the problems are
similar.

By the way my husband served his apprenticeship in the UK in the mid 60s as
a Heating and Ventilating Engineer when Central heating was in its infancy.
Arrived in Australia and they had no need for central heating so he had to
find a new direction. It has just started to been seen as desirable when he
is almost ready to retire.

Jean in S. Australia.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jane Lachs <>
To: <>
Date: Saturday, 9 September 2000 3:59 PM
Subject: NONGEN This week on the building site.


>Morning folks,
>
>Very NONGEN this but:
>
>thought you might like to know why I'm not up to my usual bright helpful
>self :-)
>
>We are having central heating put in :-) well it started with central
>heating ! in the mean-time we're having a new bathroom as well !! The story
>involves 3 firms: the builders, the plumbers and the heating people.
>
>On Monday 4 of them stood round scratching their heads and saying "Oh dear"
>or words to that effect.
>
>Something was blocking the waste-water pipe !
>
>I had to phone the care-taker to come with the key to the apartment below
>because they are on holiday then he had to get the man on the first floor
to
>open the door (he's a funny one !!) then he (the caretaker) had to phone
the
>manager of the bar below (street level) to come in early ! By the time they
>were finished this side of the house all had blocked pipes and they ended
up
>in the cellar !!
>
>Took them til 15.30 to unblock everything :-))) ROTFL
>
>Tuesday ... the builder's men started filling up the bl**dy great holes
>they'd made ...
>the gas people said they must take all the old gas pipes away and lay new
>ones.
>
>Wenesday .. gas people came to change pipes .. just caught the builders men
>filling up the holes ..
>"Oh dear" they said .. we need those holes to put the new pipes through !!
>can you take the filling out ?????
>
>Electrian (lady) came .. walked round the hall saying things like "Oh dear"
>, "Good Lord" and "I've never seen one of those before" !!!
>
>They left us on Wenesday evening without hot water ... My husband showered
>with ice cold water .. I didn't !!
>
>Thursday: they started replaceing the tiles on the wall that they'd knocked
>out !! left us with no hot water again but that didn't matter as they
forgot
>to put the bath back anyway !!
>
>The builder came with a couple of new men ... one had to carry the heavy
>sacks of cement up-stairs .. they are Turkish I think .. anyway they don't
>understand a bl**dy word and instructions are given in sigh language and
>pidgeon Bavarian !!!
>"You go sack bringen .. you not throw 30 kilo sack on floor .. house shake
>.. house fall down"
>
>The other one is supposed to clean up the mess .. he's got a broom and
wafts
>the dust from one corner to the other. He even found corners that were
>dust-less !!
>
>Friday .. they filled the bathroom floor with cement .. then about mid-day
>the last worker left ..
>no bath .. no hot water ... no cold water except for a drip ??
>last worker said "plumer must come .. pipe drip drip drip ... by Monday
>water in 2nd floor".
>
>I phoned the builder .. he's not responsible for water !! phoned the
plumber
>.. he said "put a bucket under it !!" I tried but a bucket didn't fit ..
put
>a pan under it .. pan filled up very quickly !! phoned plumber again "I
>can't sit here all weekend emptying pan, I won't be able to go to bed !!!"
>plumber says builder is at fault .. I say "I don't care .. shall I call an
>emergency plumber" .. no he says I'll come to-night between 8 and 8.30 !!
>
>
>He did !!! and left us at 10 with a bath and hot water :-)
>
>This was the third week !! but I can now get into my PC room (I think) and
>get to my PC so I'll be able to update web pages etc. !!
>
>Cheers Jane
>PS
>Two rooms of the flat haven't had electricity for the last two weeks !!
>
>______________________________

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