At last we’re coming to the end of the disruption and intrusion into our lives.  Grass seed has germinated over the site of the underground gas tank where our apple tree used to be, and our front lawn is a healthy green again.

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Men are still tramping back and forth with hosepipes, but the noise level is now tolerable.  All I’m hearing now is the gurgle of radiators as they start to get filled up with water.  There is sometimes the odd “Pass me those two inch tens, mate” and an accompanying “Okay, bud”, but on the whole I can think my own thoughts quite a lot of the day now.

The outside temperature is running around 23 degrees, and in a short while the new boiler will be fired up and every radiator in the house will be turned on full as a sort of test run.  I’m having a hot flush already at the very thought of it.

Minnie Mouse on helium has been changed to AC/DC and Ozzy Osborne, so things are definitely looking up.  We’ve even just had ‘There’s a Bad Moon on the Rise’ on the iPad.  The engineers have stopped shutting themselves away in my dining room at break time, especially after I gave them a whole strawberry flan to eat that hadn’t travelled home very well from the supermarket.  They’ve eaten  3 packets of biscuits that I bought for them, and drunk all my lemon barley water.  I figure the light at the end of the tunnel must be coming soon.  The elderly couple next door are no doubt breathing a sigh of relief at being able to settle down to their afternoon naps again.

UPDATE

As of July 27th we have hot water and heating and an awesome hot towel rail in the bathroom.  However, they’re now nailing down floorboards and the noise has started up again.  Stevie’s off for a walk in the rain…

It’s not been much fun being the neighbours from hell.  Sam also reckons he now has enough decorating and ‘making good’ to do to last him the rest of the year!