Arrivals

The day went as expected.

We went to Canterbury to collect Strider from Uni. Lovely to see the big ape again with his fat grin and his lovely hug. But there wasn’t much time for niceties, we made a loo stop and then turned around and came home.

On the way down we had seen a wonderful sunrise of purple, gold and orange. On the way back it pissed with rain, wind-blown, cold rain that made driving hard work for TSM. To make matters worse she had no less than three work calls on the way home as the endless saga of setting up the mass vaccination centre continued. 

The fun started when the people who deliver on behalf of Curry’s - the ironically named Know How - rang.

“Hello sir. We’ve got your fridge and we’ll be with you in half an hour.”
“Well we’re not at home. You told us our delivery would be between noon and four pm”.
“Yes, well the van broke down”.
“The van broke down so you are three hours early?”
“We’re just helping out. We’re not supposed to be doing this”.

I let that one go. I had a feeling it would lead into deeper, more bizarre territory.

“Well we planned our day around the fact that you would deliver between twelve and four so we won’t be back until ten thirty.”
“Can’t you get back earlier?”
“We’re in Canterbury!”
“That’s okay we can book you in for another day”
“No you won’t. I was promised delivery today. You come at ten thirty”
“Okay”.

Give ‘em an inch …

They turn up as promised (much to my surprise). Everything is ready for them. No excuses. We’ve installed new welded metal steps up to the conservatory door. Access is clear. Should be a breeze.

“Your new fridge won’t fit through this door” he says.
“It’s a standard width door”
“Your door is seven hundred and forty millimetres. The fridge is seven hundred and fifty unpacked”. 

I tell him I want measure up. The fridge is seven hundred and fifty millimetres - with all the packing.

“I’ve been delivering fridges for years” he says. “I’m telling you it won’t fit”
“Bring it to the door” says I. “If it doesn’t fit that will be my problem”
“Okay”.
“Do you want to get the old one out first?” Says I.
“We can’t take it away”.
“I paid for removal of my old fridge!”
“I only have a small van”.

At this point I highlighted to him that he was delivering a fridge that was the same size as the one he was taking away so it shouldn’t be a problem. Like for like. By now I was in full angry middle class middle aged man territory. I put on my best Obi Wan Kenobi Voice.

“You will take the fridge away.”
“We will take the fridge away”.

After some backchat about mask wearing and social distancing they did get the old one out. Unpacked the new one and bought it to the door. I measured up. Seven hundred and twenty millimetres. A breeze. They delivered the fridge, I signed the digital docket M Mouse, and they went away.

It’s a nice fridge. Took us bloody ages to repack and tidy up but it ended well. TSM meanwhile carries on working. I have lost count of how much time she has spent on the phone today. Basically her day consisted of three hours driving and six hours working. 

I find days like this exhausting. But it doesn’t matter. Strider is back and I’ve made spagbol for supper. If TSM gets the evening off I’ll be even happier …