Sunday Musings On The 15th Of January

~ beetleypete

The week has been dominated by weather. Bad weather, constant rain and strong winds. The combination has caused something to happen on the roof, resulting in a leak that is finding its way down the chimney of the wood burner, onto the stove top. So now as well as walking Ollie in slick mud and getting regularly soaked, I have to wait for a roofer to call me on Monday to discuss whether or not he is interested in doing what might be a ‘small job’. I cannot go up ladders any longer because of Vertigo, and it annoys me that the condition has stopped me from investigating the problem myself.

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Ollie started shaking his head again on Friday, so we are back treating him with the ear-gel. It has almost run out, and I suspect an expensive trip to see the Vet is on the horizon.

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The central heating is still deciding when and if it will work. Another job next week is to get a company in to try to solve the problem once and for all. Naturally, temperatures are set to go back to below freezing from tonight. Winter tests houses, and also tests my patience. January is often the most expensive month for us, and we can be sure that many things will go wrong at once.

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Yesterday was Julie’s birthday. I took her to The Chequers Inn for dinner. This is a 17th-Century Inn with great character and original features, specialising in large portions! Just over 30 minutes away by car, it is in the small village of Thompson, south of Beetley. There are some photos of it on this website.

Home


This evening we are meeting up with all of her family at a pub/restaurant in Dereham. So she will get to see everyone at once and continue to celebrate her birthday.

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Whatever you are doing today, and wherever you live, I hope that your Sunday is a happy one.

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75 thoughts on “Sunday Musings On The 15th Of January”

  5. I’m late to wish Julie a happy birthday, but I hope she had a great time. The weather is getting eerie here as well. At least the wind is helping with the electricity prices, but a large part of Spain is seeing snow and extreme weather conditions, and here it has been incredibly windy today and the temperature is going down. I hope Ollie gets better soon, although I know this is a long-term problem. And I hope the roof and the heating get sorted soon without excessive bother. Take care, Pete.

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    1. Some good news. We found someone very good to fix the heating, and he did the job in under an hour last night. Just as well, as it has been below freezing all week, and down to -7C at night.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  6. We’ve had some precipitation nearly every day for the past two and a half weeks, from years of drought to flooding. Throw in all the earthquakes we’ve been having, and we’re ready for some uneventful days.

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  10. January has been rather problematic for us too! No heat or electricity for four days! The wind and rain is knocking down trees and transformers! It’s crazy! I’m hoping Ollie feels better soon! A very happy birthday to Julie! The restaurant looks fabulous! Hugs, C

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  11. Happy Birthday to your wife, Pete! Sorry, i am once again late, very late now. ;-/ You had made a good decision, not climbing on the roof. This is a sport only for very young people. At least reparing is normally very difficult. Why also having this risk? Now I will go back two weeks to get the last continuation of your last series and the recent published sequels of the new novel. Best wishes! Enjoy a nice evening! xx Michael

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    1. The Epley Manoeuvre exercises didn’t work for me, Robbie. I need to be careful at height, and also get vertigo lying flat on my back. I have to sleep on my front or side at night.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  15. Congratulations to Julie for her birthday and best wishes for many more to come, hopefully in good health.
    I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the problems with your house can be fixed ASAP and won’t be too expensive.
    All the best,
    Pit

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  16. First and foremost, birthday wishes to Julie! It sounds like some fun celebration have been had and more to come…as for Ollie, sorry to hear and hope it improves one way or the other..as for the weather, we have been deluged in California by rain and snow in the mountains, which is what we use for our water supply once it melts in the spring and summer…and, even though most of the state went from extreme drought down to moderate, the “yes but…” stories find a way to make it a bad thing…

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  17. (1) You can’t go up ladders anymore due to Vertigo. The Birds on the roof are probably grateful. If you climbed the ladder, they’d go into a Frenzy. That’s due to a Suspicion they have about you. They suspect you’re a Psycho! But, of course, they have The Wrong Man. Birds aside, can you climb a Rope? How about installing The 39 Steps I once suggested? In any event, anytime you try to get on the roof, Always Tell Your Wife.
    (2) “I suspect an expensive trip to see the Vet is on the horizon.” Yes, if you have to drive to the horizon to see the Vet, it’s going to get expensive. Because no matter how far you drive, you never quite reach the horizon.
    (3) January is both a good month and a bad month. It’s two-faced.
    (4) By chance, when paying the chummy, charming, cheerless, or churlish casher at The Chequers Inn, did you write a check? (And was The Chequers Inn chow cheap?)
    (5) While at the pub with her family members, you should Dereham to sing Happy Birthday without smiling. (Not possible.)
    (6) It rained yesterday, but it’s Sunday, so the sun is out. (We never make light of the sun here.)

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  18. Hope you have more luck than us with getting the leak fixed. We have water pouring into the conservatory and also the upstairs room now. And to cap it all the car broke down again on Friday 13th. Flat battery, but when the mechanic arrived we couldn’t get the bonnet open, so had to tow it to the garage. I hope they can get it sorted in less than 7 weeks this time!

    We usually celebrate birthdays with a meal out, getting expensive now though. Happy birthday to Julie. Have a lovely evening.

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    1. Sorry to hear about your woes, Jude. Why does everything have to happen at once? At least our leak is relatively small, and it isn’t raining today. Eating out can be expensive, but we mostly only go somewhere special on birthdays, and our anniversary. So three times a year is affordable.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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        1. I received a £500 payment in December, (double winter fuel allowance) because I am an OAP. But I haven’t heard anything about extra money for oil users. I bought 500 litres at the end of December, and that cost £403. x

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          1. This scheme is intended to deliver a one-off payment of £100 to UK households who are not on the mains gas grid and therefore use alternative fuels, such as heating oil, to heat their homes. The amount was doubled to £200 in the autumn budget, and to be paid through electricity accounts. It’s still unclear on the government website when this is going to happen.

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  20. Happy Birthday Julie! That Inn looks lovely and of course I approve of any inn that decorates rooms with hedgehogs. Those are the places I miss so much over here. January does have its problems. I hope you can get yours sorted without too much hassle. We need an electrician but I dread what he may tell us.

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    1. Waiting for trades quotes is always a worrying time. But some things just have to be done, and we can’t have water in the living room, even if only a small drip at the moment when it rains heavily.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  21. A belated Happy Birthday to Julie! The menu at the restaurant was one I would like. What did you order?

    I am sorry Ollie is under the weather again. I am also sorry about the continued maintenance issues with your home. We have had a few of those recently, too. I hope you get repairs completely soon.

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    1. I had the half duck with cherry sauce and vegetables. It was massive! Julie had the Sirloin Steak with all the trimmings. It was so big, she took some home for Ollie. (For starters I had the prawns, Julie the fried Brie. We couldn’t manage a dessert.)
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  23. Congratulation to Julie. I wish you will have a wonderful time with the family and have a great Dinner.
    I hope Ollie gets better soon.
    I have heard from many people that it is taking them a long time to recover from Covid. You really have to be patient.
    Best wishes, Irene

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  26. hope your heating is fixed once and for all and I understand your frustration with not being able to attend to everything yourself. happy birthday to Julie, it sounds like a great place for a visit and meal. poor ollie –

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  28. Dear Pete,
    our dear Master can’t also climb high ladders any more. That came with age. So he has the privilege to stay grounded.
    We hope that you get all the problems sorted out, Ollie, the leak, the central heating … We keep our fingers crossed .
    Keep happy and healthy
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  29. Sorry to hear about your roof problem, Pete: I hope you can find someone to rectify the ‘small’ job—not small to you, of course. Happy Birthday for yesterday to Julie, and I hope the ointment helps Ollie’s ears. Happy Sunday, Jon.

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