Not The Day I Expected

I decided to get some washing done this morning, put the machine on and shortly after the electricity went off and I thought I'd heard the fuse trip. I was right, I re-set it and it went off again, so I switched the washing machine off at the socket and it re-set ok. I tried the machine again but it fused straight away. So I pulled the machine out, found the instructions and opened the door manually, thankfully only a few items were even slightly wet. Then I manually emptied any water in it. I checked the socket with another item and it worked ok and didn't trip. I briefly thought of getting an engineer out, but I inherited the machine from the previous owners and I've been here 7.5 years, so I didn't think it was worth the cost and a new machine will hopefully be an improvement. So after doing some research I chose an AEG to order from John Lewis and it will arrive and be installed (hopefully) on Monday. This afternoon I spent a while cleaning the area it sits in - not a pretty sight! 

I also had a landscape gardener come round to give me a quote for the work needed to repair the 40cm retaining wall that runs all round the patios / paving. He suspects that the top engineering bricks (which are mostly cracked and some completely broken) were seconds as that just shouldn't have happened - this is what I suspected too. He also thinks the bricks below the engineering bricks have been too badly damaged by the rain running off onto them - I suspected that too, I wasn't advised well. He's going to have a chat with his colleague and come back with options and a quote - I don't think it will be good news! Not good when it was only built 5 years ago - but they were a dodgy company which shut down soon after finishing the job. I've got another company coming round tomorrow to quote as well. 

I took two big bags of things to the charity shop first thing, got a loaf from the bakers, two t shirts from Mountain Warehouse and some sunflower hearts and live mealworms for the birds. I had the nest box cam on the tv and heard a racket - I rushed out and it was a greater spotted woodpecker trying to get in. It's tried at least three times today - on the camera I can see its huge beak poking in the entrance hole!!!