Tuesday 17th January 2023

Alarm at 0730. Too weary to haul myself out of our warm bed until gone 0830. Warmed up with a cuppa tea, and a bowl of porridge. Heated up some of Aki's homemade mushroom and cauliflower soup to take for my packed lunch. No Leon today, so was able to delay setting off on inspections, and await the boiler installer's surveyor, who wanted to carry out a quick reconnaissance prior to tomorrow's installation. He arrived on time. He reckoned they would have trouble waterproofing the new vertical flue, and recommended we approach a roofer...so called Sergii who's team had applied the Sarnifil membrane, and left a message for him to make urgent contact...need him tomorrow, otherwise we'll be forced to postpone the boiler installation. I left Aki manning the phone lines and juggling contractors, and drove up to Waltham Abbey. First inspection of a house on Hertford Road was slow going...the Lithuanian man and wife who have lived there for 15 years were furious with the lack of repair work done over the years, and as their English was a bit challenged, I had to talk to their daughter over a mobile phone....thought I wasn't going to get out of there in one piece!!! After Enfield wash, I drove over to Chingford. Had my lunch in the car with a view across the London Basin. Stopped for some odds and ends at Morrisons, then drove on to Walthamstow. Only managed half-a-dozen internals. Turned for home at 1600, and got in around 1700. Aki had just returned from Highbury Pool. Worked at the laptop on the dining table for an hour or so. Aki put together a chicken stir fry, with rice, for dinner. Apple crumble and custard for pudding. Took a saw to the boxing above the current boiler, in the hope that I could cut it away in one piece, so enabling me to put it back when the installation is completed tomorrow...but my efforts failed. Hopefully I've given the chap a head start tomorrow morning. Watched a bit of telly before early night...need to get up early tomorrow morning to do some prep before the boiler men  arrive...