The Party's Over...

.......for these travellers at least.

It was over for us yesterday when the central hearing boiler failed to rise to the occasion and switch itself on. Various valve turnings and button pushings did nothing to make it spring into life, and a cold afternoon and evening ensued with a huddle round a halogen heater.

We of course are expensively insured against boiler failure, but New Year holidays don't figure in the small print, and we were lucky to find an alternative plumber who would come out this afternoon to push one of the few buttons that we hadn't touched, and embarrass us with success in 3 seconds.

If only boilers could talk it would be saying ' Fooled you this time! Thought you knew how to raise my water pressure and reset me, but I knew I could beat you at your game. Now you have managed to get me working again, I'm going slow and you will have to wait while I heat up my radiators... I'm not in any hurry........ My water in the tank is cold'.

We can wait, wearing our fleeces and scarves, until it feels warmer inside than out.