Abstract Thursday - Gremlins Everywhere

It’s been a frustrating week or so for me as far as modern technology is concerned.

Things had started well with the smooth installation of my new EE Broadband equipment, which has so far behaved itself. Then of course, I’ve had the whole sorry saga of the boiler which broke down following a routine service. I have now cancelled my “24/7” breakdown contract with Vaillant that wasn’t actually 24/7 when I needed it. When it turned out they no longer stocked the vital, but discontinued, spare part needed to make the boiler work again, they simply abandoned me to my fate. I’ve had a full refund of the entire year’s premium, with no penalties or deductions for the claims already made. They should never have offered to renew my contract knowing they probably couldn’t repair it if it broke down. A friend recommended very highly an Essex-based plumbing and heating company to replace the broken boiler with a new one (which I was going to do this summer anyway, the old one being 23 years old). So far, I have been very happy with the speed and professionalism of communication, the fair and firm quote, and their flexibility in sorting out a date for installation. The boiler and other kit will be delivered here tomorrow (Friday) ready for installation on Saturday. I will report back on them once it’s in and working. It will have a 10-year warranty, with no call out fees, and free parts and labour for that period.

Returning to my technology gremlins, the printer went somewhat temperamental this morning when attempting to print an important document that I needed a paper copy of in a hurry. Fortunately, I managed to coax it into co-operation using the time-honoured method of switching it off and on again.

This afternoon there was a brief spot of relaxation while I had my hair washed and blow-dried at the hairdresser’s. It just hasn’t been convenient to do this when having showers at my friends’ house for various reasons. The relief at having clean hair was rather exhilarating, especially as it was also beautifully sunny and warm outside.

Once home, I put my bed linen through the wash only to find that the tumble dryer refused to start, having been behaving perfectly for weeks since the last spot of bother with it. So I now have a set of damp bedclothes draped over airers in an unheated house overnight until I can peg them out on the line tomorrow morning. I confess I did give the tumble dryer a kick in a fit of pique. Technology and I are just not getting along at the moment :-(

Many thanks to Ingeborg for hosting the Abstract Thursday challenge which, this being the first week of March, has no particular theme. Here is an abstract interpretation of some of that damp bed linen, with ripples and runs added by me using a couple of editing apps.