Meirion gave me a lecture the other day about my downpipe.
He’s sweet, but has a habit of giving me a lecture about things.
It’s irritating because he is invariably right in what he says.
Those sort of conversations always are.
“ You’ll get damp in the upstairs bedroom if that leaks anymore” he noted seriously
I nodded, also seriously and promised to get it sorted
He’d already suggested that I stake my graveyard laburnum
I promised to do that, but haven’t got around to it.
Even though I’m a great list maker I still have lots to do
The downpipe does need fixing , but I am not the girl to do it.
I cannot go up ladders to save my life.
I’m terrified of heights even ones just ten feet from the ground.
I am a right wuss.
I suffer from the syndrome The Call Of The Void
That’s where you get the urge to jump from very high spaces
Luckily Facebook came to my aid and a quick plea for a handyman with his own ladder brought forth an offer of help, this time from said handyman’s partner who lives in the village.
I hate it when workmen come around, I try to go all butch and understanding
Winnie just to blow them kisses.
So on nights I am making more lists
The downpipe is number one, and I’ve messaged partner to organise a meeting for me
Second on my list isn’t the laburnum, I’m being bolshy about that one and am ignoring the suggestion.
Third, is the office walls which need repainting, the impetus for that is the new Bauhaus picture which will lovely of a muted yellow wall
I still haven’t finished my revalidation paperwork too……that was a job for tonight
I’ve spent too long doing other things……..typical…in between patient care, I’ve been booking theatre and cinema tickets…..hey ho
There is fourteen things on my list
Buying a ladder will not be one of them.
I am scared of heights too and you would not see me on whatever that is in the video!
ReplyDeleteI've finally come to accept that there are times when you just have to hire someone to help with certain jobs around the house. We have always been do it your selfers but as we get older some projects are beyond us. Getting on a ladder is one of them!
Get a little man in
DeleteAs said Benny Hill
Knowing your limits is a sign of great wisdom! I usually know what needs to be done to accomplish home handyman/woman tasks, but have neither the strength, nor the correct tools, to accomplish it. So, I ask for help, or pay a professional. I do not ask my husband, who is completely kackhanded and would insist on doing it... and thus create a worse mess ... so I organise what needs doing, and then tell him it's being sorted! You are doing so well managing to get up that ladder to paint your cottage. Rest on those laurels !
ReplyDeleteKackhanded I love that word
DeleteI am surprised a tradesman is not in your repertoire of village folk. I would have thought it essential.
ReplyDeleteWe have a carpenter on hand …..but I think odd job men are rare nowadays
DeleteI think referring to this kind of tradesman as "odd job men" is the wrong way to look at it and in many ways belittling of the skills required to maintain property in good condition. I employ a maintenance/builder and I have been on his books for over 10 years. I view it as essential to the upkeep of my house.
DeleteI agree Rachel, "odd job man" is an insult to someone who is experienced in many trades and can turn his hand to many things. Jack of all Trades used to be a common description too.
DeleteI'm about to call a Jack of all Trades (that's his business name so no insult) to sort out my guttering. My long-time builder/handy man has sadly had to retire due to ill health, and it's not easy finding a reliable, trust-worthy replacement.
DeleteHere there's-Handy Man and on other Odd job man advertised on their own vans too x
DeleteIf they wish to call themselves that then that is a name they have chosen for themselves. That is far removed from the point I was making.
DeleteI like-"Man with Tools"x
DeleteThe job had in mind was something I could do myself ( so it’s easy ) but one which I couldn’t do because I just won’t go up at ladder. Hence the reference to “ odd job” because there’s IS. No skill in it. I aqqgreeq with Rachel though old properties like ours need properly skilled professionals to upkeep and maintain them
DeleteIn my opinion there is skill involved in being able to undertake work on repairing a downpipe and working from a ladder. The skill is in the whole job and that is what you pay for.
DeleteAll those women saying "man with tools", "tradesman", "odd job man" etc... Not an occupation for women then? I wonder why not? (Lesley)
DeleteAnonymous - we had a lady plumber for a few years until she changed her career. We've also got a female painter/decorator in our village. Not managed to find a female handyperson yet though.
DeleteAnd I think "Man with Tools" is flis being smutty as usual.
DeleteYou are quite mistaken Laura
DeleteWomen can do what they like, I'm not stopping them. What's in a name, nothing. People who stir up trouble for the sake of it, vipers all around spitting.
DeleteAnd for the record, John also referred to odd job men, it was not just "all those women"
DeleteAnd who said it was "just" women? Not me. (Lesley)
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DeleteI missed this entire thread until now. A stupid argument about a bland and somewhat dull post I just don’t get it.
DeleteThis isn’t the place to bicker over nothing
I wish someone had given me a good talking to about my down-pipe when I was at an impressionable age. Everything could have been so much more interesting.
DeleteIt could have opened doors which I never knew existed. Back doors, maybe, but doors never the less.
DeleteOh lord
DeleteGentlemen-would there be a cat flap by any chance ?x
DeleteOooh, that video is scary! Makes me feel queasy just looking. I hate having people in to do things, but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Knowing which is which is half the battle! xx
ReplyDeleteWatching others in danger by sheer drops makes me feel absolutely dreadful .. I feel sick and weak and I literally panic
DeleteIs 'the call of the void' really a thing? I've had those feelings too and often scared myself with it! Em, you might want to stake your tree if all these windy storms they are forecasting come your way - can you cope with 'I told you so' from Meirion? lol. x
ReplyDeleteOk will do x
DeleteI am very familiar with the Call of the Void and never mess with it
ReplyDeleteIt’s such an odd phenomenon and no one that is natural or based of survival
DeleteI wonder just where it comes from
It’s certainly innate
I’m not afraid of heights but I am afraid (almost phobic) of stepping onto a roof from the top of a ladder. And stepping from the roof onto the ladder is even worse. I’m sure Meirion means well, but that kind of supervision is hard for me to take.
ReplyDeleteOh yes that first step
Deleteomg Yes YES YES YES
I hear you about wanting to be butch around repairmen. They probably don't care how you act as long as they're paid, but old habits, and insecurities, die hard.
ReplyDeleteI know …..I guess it’s all mirroring
DeleteI have been and still receive advice-some is from well meaning from people which I do know I should act on but I cannot or will not act on the switch turns off and I go elsewhere-kitchen steps are high enough for me and then I think I shall fall x
ReplyDeletePeople always mean well x
DeleteSorry to be contradictory but oh no not in my experience sadly Far far from it unfortunately xx
DeleteIpoh flis I think you do, they just wrap things up wrongly x
DeleteBut the human poo on my doorstep was such a shock John-the local police dismissed it as antisocial behaviour-so I'm doubly traumatised-no loo roll At all x
DeleteJohn - sorry to be a pain but do get that Laburnum staked or get a gardener to do it for you. I had one a few years ago - planted it myself - but as the foliage grew and the shape of the tree widened, so the tree began to lean. After a couple of years it was not possible to save it and I had ro have it taken up. Strike while the iron's hot - find a tree man in the village to buy you a good strong stake and a leather strap.
ReplyDeleteOkok ok xxx
DeleteI second what Weaver says! I planted a laburnum in my last house. It had been planted for a year and then one night we had strong winds and the next day it was lying on the ground!
ReplyDeletePoint taken
Deletei am petrified of heights. if i had to step onto that thing i would just die on the spot.
ReplyDeleteI’m still fascinated by the “ urge” to jump and why it occurs , I still have no answer to it
DeleteI didn't even know there was such a syndrome. Never go alone anywhere high up.
ReplyDeleteI will never
DeleteI never did roofs, heights don't really bother me, but roofs terrify me. Back in my homebuilding days, a roofer stopped by one summer afternoon to update me on a job, and I commented on not being able to do what he did. He responded, "that is why you pay a convicted felon lawyers wages to do a job no one wants to do."
ReplyDeleteLol , pity nurses don’t get the same rates of pay
DeleteThe bridge in the video will never see me there! Another shudder.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind going up short ladders and at my height or lack thereof, it's often needed - even to change a calendar. What helped indoors is a ladder with wide steps. We have two: a three step and a four step.
I so agree about nurses' pay!
Hugs!
I cannot climb above my head height
DeleteOH BOY, I'm the same way about heights. I can climb a ladder, but precipices, overlooks, mountain roads and that sort scare the bejabbers out of me. It's a scary thought to have.
ReplyDeleteI inherited my fear from my mother who was paralysed with fear of heights
DeleteI've always heard that people with a fear of heights are actually afraid they'll jump -- which I guess is what the "Call of the Void" is all about. (I hadn't heard that term!) I like having a few things on a list to do. Makes me feel productive, even if I don't actually do them! LOL
ReplyDeleteI’ve always made them, in my head , on paper
DeleteIf you don't know a tradesman in the village who can fix your downpipe, ask around, surely Jason or one of your other friends will know of one?
ReplyDeleteThat viewing platform is seriously scary. Something people go on to show off their nerves of steel!
After a nasty fall that involved a helicopter ride to hospital and several days in neuro-ICU, my doctor said, "no one over the age of fifty should be on a ladder". I have taken his advice seriously ever since.
ReplyDeleteNow that sounds like a story!
DeleteYes, having someone else do the work is the best of all possible worlds.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh I too have call of the void, although I didn’t know it had a name.
ReplyDeleteI just thought I was odd. If I have to walk across a bridge, look over a balcony etc My feet start fizzing and I want to jump.
If I see anyone else near a drop, again my feet start fizzing and I start to panic.
Awful feeling.
It has fascinated me
Deletehttps://allthatsinteresting.com/call-of-the-void
That video makes me so anxious, cannot watch stuff like that. I would not walk out on that, I do not put that much trust in the construction. Ditto ladders. That's what makes life interesting, each person has their talents, there are ladder climbers and there are those who stay on the ground
ReplyDeleteHome ownership seems to always come with maintenance and property upkeep. I rather enjoy bringing in various tradesmen/women to handle these jobs. I am okay on a step ladder but that is my limit.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have the telephone number of Big Rod The Chimney Sweep by any chance?
ReplyDeleteLook in your local telephone box
DeleteThank you kindly.At last I did find him as you suggested but alas he is unable to help me out at the moment as he is tied up with a lady but I am to try again later
DeleteDear God. Watching the video made me squeamish. I can sort of handle heights, if there is something that needs doing, but I do not like heights, and if left a choice, I will keep my feet on the ground!
ReplyDeleteDude, you need a ladder. Learn something new ;)
ReplyDeleteI cant
DeleteI'm also terrified of heights but don't have any compulsion to even look at the edge, let alone go over.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get all the things fixed. I also hope you enjoy all the outings you have booked
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