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We were thinking we would set off for Italy next week, we want to be there before Easter, and no we definitely won’t be using P&O ferries.  However our lovely stop off in the champagne region isn’t available on the date we want and the weather forecast isn’t great.  So it’s the week after which gives me time to consider what we need to take for maybe 7 months away.

Today in Yorkshire it’s 2 degrees and snowing, flakes keep drifting past the balcony doors and the hills have a dusting of white, how can I contemplate shorts and t shirts and flip flops.  But I can think about seeing Grigio and Enrico, who won’t be pleased to know I have already bought their worming tablets.  It’s more than 4 months since we have seen them, bless their hearts it shouldn’t be much longer.  As far as we know they are still well and together, just hang on a little bit longer kitties you’ll soon be relaxing in the garden while MrFF tackles the terrace repairs.

Out of control

It’s difficult at present not to feel the world is a mad and dangerous place to be.  The brutality and devastation in Ukraine, the immediate sacking of 800 P&O workers who seem to have no employment rights at all, Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe confirming she should never have been held hostage in Iran for 6 years while 5 different foreign secretaries talked of negotiating her release. 

I don’t write about politics on my blog although I do rant a lot about mindless bureaucracy.  Sometimes I am offended by the political comments of other bloggers and their assumption that I am of the same persuasion.    Now however I am enraged by how the world seems to revolve on power and money, greedy grabby companies and individuals, few leaders prepared to lead and a lot of ordinary folks trying to make a difference.   

I have no answers to the despair we all feel but I need to acknowledge it is there and I have.  Let me finish with a photo that arrived this afternoon of Grigio and Enrico taking the sun.  Who knows when we shall see them, Europe needs to feel more stable before we will leave Ilkley. 

Without wheels

 

I sold my yellow Lupo Sport today, it was the only new car I ever had the others were MrFF’s cast offs.  I’d had it 22 years but now I never drive, everything I need is within walking distance and if I wish to venture further afield its 10 minutes walk to the bus and train stations.   Plus of course I have MrFF to chauffeur me and while I was tempted to keep the Lupo as it’s quite a desirable car I was happy to sell it to a young girl who said it was exactly what she’d been looking for in her favourite colour.  It is a girly car with cartoon cats and mice on the yellow seats, I was dreading it going to some boy racer to be mistreated.

Mr FF took our buyer out for a drive, explained the various features and said the CD player worked fine but she probably didn’t want to listen to my Glen Campbell CD, she didn’t know who he was.  She came today to pay and collect the car with her Dad who looked about 15.  The whole process made me and MrFF feel old, but then again we are and while I always thought it was cool to have a nippy little yellow car those days are over. 

However, if I ever need to start driving again which would involve a refresher course and in a couple of years a driving test, there could be a pastel coloured spanking new cinquecento in my sights,  maybe even a convertible.

The not so smart meter

MrFF has always been quite keen for us to have smart meters monitoring our power supply, those that give you detailed information on your fuel consumption and can be read remotely both by the supplier, cancelling the need for physical meter readings, and by the homeowner from a small rechargeable device like this.  He tried to get these meters some time ago but the technician who came to carry out the installation said because our two meters are in separate rooms in the basement of the building they cannot connect to each other and wouldn't work. We thought this was strange as a few residents already have them in the same locations.

When our energy provider went down the pan last year we were allocated a new one, Octopus, who said they would be able to fit smart meters for gas and electricity.  The man duly arrived, he said the first thing he had to do was check that our appliances were working and he would check again once the meters were fitted.  This seemed to involve him annoyingly turning on all the gas rings and letting them burn for quite some time while he checked the boiler.  He asked to see the gas fire working but this wasn't possible because we didn't have a battery for the ignition.  These batteries cost around £75, they last less than a year, we don't use the fire because it give no heat and the flame effect is miserable.  I think there was a clue when the fire basket was full of tiny fairy lights which the man asked us to remove.

After he had fitted the meters and whilst in the depths of the basement he handed over some papers for MrFF to sign, which he did.  We always do that, just sign whatever we are asked, in our 70s we never learn.  It was only later that MrFF realised that he had been issued with a danger do not use notice for our gas fire which had been condemned because it couldn't be checked.  In itself this wasn't such a big issue, we don't use the fire, but because we live in a building with 26 other apartments this could have an effect on the communal insurance, we are obliged to have regular safety checks and the notice would go on the register. 

We were cross, if we had known beforehand we would have made sure the fire was operational, in fact officially there is no industry requirement for the meter installer to check any appliances and most companies do not do this.  Anyway after much discussion with Octopus, it took 4 emails before they accepted that when we said flame effect gas fire that's what we meant. We had several concerned emails from them about our meter not working and asking if were we vulnerable without power. There was a lot of argument as you can imagine, eventually Octopus agreed to pay half towards us getting a gas safe technician to certify the fire, Octopus refused to return to do that though they were the ones who had condemned it.  We have paid almost £150 for a new battery and a test to remove the do not use notice on an appliance we do not use.

As if that wasn't enough the remote reader in our apartment doesn't work, too far from the meter.  However that doesn't stop MrFF going down to the basement for regular readings which he somehow puts onto his phone.   Every day he tells me how much power we have used and points out the alarming spike on the graph when I cook dinner.  I am as frugal as the rest of you, our energy use is very economical, we don't have the heating on during the day and because we have a lot of loft insulation its not on much at night.  I am hoping we can continue to have a hot meal and while I know rising energy costs are an issue for many people I really don't care how many killowats it takes for me to use the oven.  

Smart meters, I don't think so.  I've checked, we would have to pay to have them removed and the old ones style meters reinstalled.  

Post post note - MrFF has now admitted that our consumption continues to be very low and that the cooking spike that looks like a lot of money is about £1 worth of power, he’s probably using an equal amount himself checking the figures. 

Post post post note - our Italian water supply has been reconnected, with no explanation or apology of course.  We are not sure if the other neighbours are back on stream.