bobble

We now have the luxury of hot water at Bobble Towers courtesy of our new condensing boiler - the gas pressure hungry condensing boiler - and a long length of fat copper pipe. Surface mounted pipe is very ugly to be sure but it was the only way. I am now shopping for off white metal paint to try and get it to blend - good luck with that - into the hall wall.

The boiler installer was brilliant though and asked lots of questions about which floorboard I’d prefer him to cut and was the carpet tacked down enough etc. etc. If anyone needs a plumbing company in East Sussex I can recommend them a good one.

The three old lead crystal chandeliers are back from rewiring and look marvellous. It’s a pity our Electrician can’t hang them for another three weeks as he is booked up but I am already imagining scenes such as the one below occurring in our drawing room:

We couldn’t find energy saving light bulbs that were pretty enough for the chandeliers so we have gone old school and bought clear incandescent bulbs in a flame shape. They are the most gorgeous light bulbs I have ever seen. To offset them not being energy saving we’ve bought dimmer switches for the rooms they’ll be in. We’ve also got some very pretty ‘dolly switch’ toggle light switches for the rest of our rooms. They make a very satisfying clunk when you switch them on and off.

Today I am expecting a visit from ‘Shutterly Fabulous’ to measure our huge windows for some shutters. The quotes we have had so far cost the same as a small car so hopefully this one will be a tad more reasonable. Unlike most people I want solid panelled shutters like the house would of had originally not plantation or louvre shutters. I think I have a phobia about louvres shutters on Victorian houses… but that could just be me.

So one month in: a new boiler - check.

This month: getting the sashes restored, a new consumer unit, some new wiring, new down-lighters and the chandeliers being hung.

Did I tell you about my teapot? It’s like this:

I think I may have to change my surname to Morland or Dashwood.

Well the boiler doesn’t work. It sits on the wall looking at me all shiny and gleaming and white. The very model of modern sleek efficiency. But yet, no hot water.

Apparently when they converted the building in flats way back when they didn’t run an appropriate size diameter gas pipe from where it enters the house to our flat. Our gas supply isn’t sufficient. It wasn’t even really sufficient for the old boiler hence the shower problem.

On Monday the plumbers return for another wodge of money to fix it. Fixing it entails a new big pipe from the back bedroom out into the communal hall along the corridor and into the front wall of our flat. Then under the hall and kitchen floorboards and so on until it reaches the boiler. New boilers are arse aren’t they?

I am slightly worried at the moment that our neighbours will hate us. Doing anything to the communal parts of the building requires the say so of the other freeholders. They are all very laid back and nice (and have even offered us the use of their showers until Monday) but I still feel uneasy. I don’t want to alienate them.

Next week the electrician is supposed to to be coming. I hope our electrical supply is sufficient from the hall into our flat for the new kitchen appliances. We’re changing from a gas to a ceramic hob so that’s a bit extra on the loading. Hmmm, you just know it won’t be, right? Oh well.

Today the two chandeliers I bought for the kitchen and bedroom are due to arrive.

I need tea.

Yep we’re having a new boiler put in - during the hottest week of the year so far. Today is meant to be 98% humidity in Brighton too (I frickin’ hate high humidity. Apparently my legs do too as they always come out in a rash when the humidity starts to rise.)

And they are turning the radiators on later too, joy.

The positive side of the new boiler is that:

a) We will save on fuel bills as the new boiler is 92% efficient as opposed to our old one which was about 55%.
b) It’s better for the environment
c) It’s smaller and very plain
d) Our shower will now work properly
e) It will be quieter

The negatives are:

a) We now have a hole in our kitchen wall to the outside world where the old monstrosity came out. A hole makes me nervous. Apparently we have Victorian flint walls which are very crumbly.
b) We will need to get some replastering done.
c) The fitters arrived an hour and a quarter early this morning and I was in my dressing gown.

Hopefully our neighbours will forgive us all the noise.

Well we’re finally back from holiday. Loads done, loads doing and loads to do.

We had approximately half of the time away under serene blaring hot blue skies, half under some of the worst storms Northern Italy has seen for years. Maltempo indeed. So, erm mixed.

We drove up and down many ace passes and managed to do the two big hikes we couldn’t do last year because of the snow (yes, we had snow last year in the Dolomites in July. Guess what, we had it this year too.) I now have Catinaccio and the Tre Cime hikes done. We even did some bouldering. I ate canederli (dumplings), deer, rabbit, speck, lard, bream, bass and sole. M even ate some meat, get in.

But the mother of all passes, the pass that ‘Top Gear’ made even more famous, the biggie: Stelvio. It was bloody shut. Yes, shut for a whole week to “protect workmen”. We drove to the other side of the region, up to a vertical weeny no horse village in the rain (to a hotel that didn’t have Italian TV despite being in Italy, only German and Austrian) only to find out it was shut. Was a teensy bit pissed off? Yes.

Oh well, there is always another year… We decamped from no horse village and scarpered back to the Lakes and booked in at one of my favourite hotels in Torri and indulged. Cocktails and lounging by the water while lotharios in speedboats tried to pull women half their age. It was good.

I took about 300 pictures and have looked at none of them. Busy y’see.

My laptop died. That was a nice surprise when I got back from Italy. My macbook isn’t even a year old and it was kaput. I got it back today (thank you warranty) and it was the hard drive. So they popped a new one in. Unfortunately I lost all my data. Fortunately clever clogs M backed it up before we went away so I’ve only lost the newest stuff. Bah. Thanks heavens really as I have two lots of wedding photographs to process (again). It could be worse. Apologies for not replying to emails, fakebook etc etc. I know I have heaps to do.

I have also been buying lighting and entertaining workmen. After looking at a hundred seemingly identical modern acrylic chandeliers I’d given up hope of finding something nice. So we bit the bullet and bought antiques ones at ouchy prices but by god they are lovely. They are being rewired at the moment so we should have them next week.

We are totally sticking to the mantra “if we don’t love it it doesn’t cross the threshold” with this flat. We have to absolutely love it to buy it. We’d rather save up or sacrifice on other things than buy something twice. We also are trying to buy all ‘old’. Reuse, reduce, repair and recycle at its finest. The Independent only had an article on it last Thursday. Next on the list is a Georgian-a-like ladies battered writing desk for the macs.

I discovered today a brand new shop near me on Blatchington Road in Hove (near ‘Ethels Kitchen’) that I have totally fallen for. It’s a little shop that sells beautifully girlie secondhand china, unusual stationery and handprinted bags and homewears called ‘Bird & Rose’. It’s run by a lovely lady called Sophie. I came a cropper in there today… some of my haul below:

I can now make a very posh afternoon tea in a Jane Austen stylee if anyone pops down from London.

We’ve had plumbers, electricians and carpenters ’round nearly every day to quote for the grand project. The local plumbers are ace and we’ve already been entertained by Jeremy the project manager and Richard the chap who installed the washing machine and dishwasher (thus bringing us into the 21st century.) If the guy who comes tomorrow to install the boiler is called James I shall laugh my head off. They managed to fit us in at short notice for the boiler refit due to a cancellation. I am very happy as it means from Friday I can have a shower without it being hot-tepid-cold-hot-tepid-cold all the sodding time.

We’re also looking at wallpaper and old school chunky style radiators to replace the hideous 70s ones we have currently. For the vaguely interested here is the wallpaper we’ve chosen:

I never thought I’d have wallpaper in any house I lived in. Just goes to show how you change.

Tomorrow we are off on our hols in the Dolomites. One of the highlights, for me, will be driving along this road:

Ooh that looks a bit steep doesn’t it? (Sadly, we won’t be doing it in a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera ala ‘Top Gear’.)

See you on the other side.