I was rained on a couple of times today. On the way into Farnham, trolley ready for loading, the rain started halfway there. I hadn’t paid any attention to the weather report I’d heard a number of times and, therefore, was wearing shorts, t-shirt and my light fleece. While the bare legs weren’t a problem, I could have done without a sopping t-shirt.
A chap I passed, walking his dog, looked at me with a grim face and suggested the rain was his fault because he’d snatched an extra ten minutes in bed. And, to be fair, had he not stayed in bed for that extra ten minutes, he would have been home and dry…literally.
I sat in Starbucks and slowly dried off.
My South African Friends turned up and we chatted about their New Kitchen Blues. They have been trying to get it installed since April and it was only finished yesterday. Having had two quotes they went with the most reasonable one and booked and paid their deposit. Then, the kitchen company who took their deposit and said they’d be ready in six weeks, failed to get back in touch with them.
Eventually my South African Friends discovered that the deposit was actually a holding fee to retain the sale price of the installation rather than a deposit to insure the job would be done. Or even booked. They were, quite rightly, displeased. To such an extent that they cancelled the whole thing and demanded their money back.
Meanwhile, Mrs South African Friend had changed jobs and was overheard talking abut her kitchen woes by a new work colleague who said he’d quote for the job. He did, they accepted and he finished the job in next to no time even fixing a leak they didn’t know they had. They are now enormously pleased with the finished kitchen, showing off photos like newly made proud parents.
Interestingly, they told me how the guy who installed the kitchen was talking about work that had been done on the house years ago and how bad it was. A bit of a DIY job, Mrs South African Friend said. It put me in mind of the work done at our place before we bought it. Maybe it was the same guy.
So, a happy ending. One sad thing though, was what confronted me as I left Starbucks.
It is seriously too early to start with the decorations!