I suppose that another hitch in the kitchen revamp it was to be expected ... and the fact that it was the gas fitter that caused it was somehow inevitable.
When the kitchen fitter attempted to fit the new electric oven, he discovered that the gas fitter had not moved the gas pipe to the hob so that the new oven would fit in the space that was available. The gas fitter was supposed to have checked this on his previous visit but was in so much of a hurry that he didn't. The gas fitter will therefore have to make a return visit this morning to move the gas pipe about four inches/10cm ... and then he will be able to fit the new oven into place.
This is all getting too much like the famous Flanders and Swann comic song about having workmen in the house!
THE GAS MAN COMETH
by Flanders and Swann
T'was on the Monday morning, the gas man came to call,
The gas tap wouldn't turn, I wasn't getting gas at all;
He tore out all the skirting boards to try and find the main,
And I had to call a carpenter to put them back again!
Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do...
T'was on the Tuesday morning, the carpenter came round:
He hammered and he chiseled and he said "Look what I've found!
Your joists are full of dry rot, but I'll put them all to rights!"
Then he nailed right through a cable and out went all the lights!
Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do...
T'was on a Wednesday morning, the electrician came:
He called me 'Mr. Sanderson', which isn't quite the name;
He couldn't reach the fuse box without standing on the bin,
And his foot went through a window, so I called the glazier in!
Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do...
T'was on the Thursday morning, the glazier came along
With his blowtorch, and his putty, and his merry glazier's song;
He put another pane in, it took no time at all
But I had to get a painter in to come and paint the wall!
Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do...
T'was on a Friday morning the painter made a start,
With undercoats and overcoats he painted every part,
Every nook and every cranny; but I found when he was gone
He'd painted over the gas tap and I couldn't turn it on!
Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do...
On Saturday and Sunday they do no work at all;
So it was on the Monday morning that the gas man came to call!
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😆 I’ve never come across that song.
ReplyDeleteNundanket,
DeleteI suspect that you have to be of a certain generation to have heard the song!
A recording of the song can be found on YouTube.
All the best,
Bob
Ah! I’ve just seen it and it makes sense of a skit Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller used to do.
DeleteThanks for broadening my musical education!
Nundanket,
DeleteIt was my pleasure!
All the best,
Bob Cordery
It reminds me of my HVAC days. We installed air conditioning systems in homes and businesses and it was always a matter of "who's going first"?
ReplyDeleteEach contractor wanted to let the others go first so they'd know what space was left to work with or it was a matter of "I can't do my thing until I know where your thing will be".
We needed to know where drains and circuit boxes would be so we could set up our drain pipes and of course where electricity would be available. Then there was ductwork to take into consideration. It's all a tightly woven mess of interconnected parts.
Mr, Pavone,
DeleteIn the UK, getting hold of tradespeople to do a job is difficult enough, without trying to get them to work in a certain sequence! They either all arrive together and want to work in the same space at the same time … or you end with everyone waiting around for one person to do their little bit.
The worst example I have had to deal with was a gas safety officer who had to drive all the way from Portsmouth (about 120 miles) to supervise someone turn the gas on at the main. The lever that operated the valve was turned from horizontal to vertical … and that was it! A three-hour wait to watch someone supervise something that anyone could have done!
All the best,
Bob
Hi BOB,
ReplyDeleteA clever and amusing song indeed- sounds like something The Two Ronnies would have come up with in their 1970s TV Comedy Show. Hope all goes well today with the Kitchen and then you can get back to normal routine and enjoy the cooking and baking in your new Kitchen. Stay well there in London. Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteFlanders and Swann were very funny, and one of my favourites is ‘ Song Of Patriotic Prejudice’ (https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/Flanders-feat-Swann/A-Song-of-Patriotic-Prejudice).
As to the kitchen … we’ll the gas fitter has been … but there is now a wiring fault that is stopping the new oven from working. It will be fixed (I hope!) on Monday.
All the best,
Bob
I am very sorry but I am almost laughing as I read your tales of woe. It is just so very English as is the song !!!! I suspect we all have similar stories of workmen and their strange ways. I really hope it all gets sorted next week.
ReplyDeleteTony Adams,
DeleteOne is left with several choices; laugh, cry, or lose one’s temper!
We have chosen to laugh … because the alternatives are negative and don’t actually help to solve the situation we are in.
As it is, the gas fitter arrived unannounced (he was supposed to phone us before he arrived, but didn’t), and moved the gas pipe to the hob. However, when he connected the new oven to the electric supply it only worked erratically. After numerous checks, it proved to be a faulty cable … and unsurprisingly he didn’t have a spare!
We contacted the company, and the boss came around straight away. He tried to get an electrician in to change the cable, but the earliest they can come is Monday afternoon! We had profuse apologies from him and our bill has been reduced, so we have little to complain about.
All the best,
Bob
I have to say that the company you are using seems to be very customer focused and doing all they can to give a good service. The weak point is the workmen they employ or at least the gas man, who are, as you said before, a special breed !!!! As you say its hard to complain when they give a reduction in the bill. Just keep calm and carry on !!!!!
ReplyDeleteTony Adams,
DeleteThe company are a locally-based franchise that relies a lot on personal recommendation by customers, I found them online, and saw a testimonial by someone I knew. I checked with that person (our borough’s ex-mayor), and they were very effusive about the service they had received.
The gas man works full time for one of the big supply companies, and works in his spare time for the company that is revamping our kitchen. He was not very happy having to work on the weekend, but I gather that the company’s boss was quite insistent that he sort out the problem he had created.
All the best,
Bob
Hahah, that's a very good song. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
DeleteFlanders and Swann are excellent examples of British humour at its best. Not in your face, but exponents of the subtle use of language and verbal imagery.
All the best,
Bob