I love it when a plan comes together...

Yesterday was an interesting day. We had a plumber in the bathroom (best place for them, really) and a couple of odd job builders on the front. The plumber was plumbing in a new toilet (the old one having developed hairline cracks which were leaking water everywhere) and the builders were rebuilding our car port, which had fallen apart in the winds because it was a pile of shite that had been built by idiots.

The builders we had yesterday did not seem to be idiots at all. In fact, in recognition of our tale of woe about previous builders, they were exceptionally careful to make sure they did right by us. This included, for a quote far cheaper than anyone else, building a very nice looking timber frame for the carport and ensuring that it was unlikely to get blown down in the wind again by:

- using higher grade materials and constructing a sturdy frame
- bolting the thing down with hundreds of bolts
- putting a fascia up on the front to deflect the wind from going up and under the roof (which was a big problem with the earlier model).

The money we paid was well worth it for the night of calm and peace we had last night - completely different to the experience of trying to sleep on a clipper in a storm when there really was not much wind at all.

And the toilet works wonderfully as well... the seat even stays up. Though I think Sarah may take steps to change that soon...

So, I would definitely suggest, next time you are looking for workmen, asking some random bloke who lives in your street and who your wife happened to go to a first aid course with once. It worked for us. He even let us borrow his ladder so we could paint the wood...

Other plans that came together included some Amazon deliveries. I now have all the DVDs I need to keep me occupied until I go back to schools later this month... I also planned travel to Manchester for this weekend. If any Manc people are around and want to meet up, I am free for Sunday morning/lunch and Friday evening.