Gutted

Where to begin? If I begin the begin, I'll be writing pages and pages!


So, the time came to order the new kitchen and finally get rid of the breezeblocks and marble. Yes, they were functional, but they were also designed for people of a somewhat smaller stature.

We trotted of to a well known DIY store and ordered everything. I spoke to the kitchen designer, 'do you have an appointment?', but before I could say 'no, do you want my money?', he motioned me to sit down, and we went through my plans carefully. A little later, he gave me the price for everything, but one look at my face showed he had overdone it. There were certain parts that I hadn't thought about, but he seemed to be selling me every accessory possible. Um, no. A few deletions later, and I was happy.

"Do you want to take it now?" Oh, goodness, I didn't expect everything to be in stock. He checked carefully, and yes - everything was there. Great - we'll come back at 4:30 with a truck. He checked again - yes, that would be fine. He printed off a slip with a barcode, and I paid at the till. Job done.

After lunch, we returned, and spotted the pallet of white bits and bobs by the delivery door. I handed over my bit of paper, and the girl ran off! She returned a little later with a man that spoke excellent English. 'Sorry, but about 10 items aren't in stock. It is our fault, we will deliver them in about 10 days, when they are here'. Hmm, ok.

So, 3 weeks later, I get a friend to call, and there are still 2 bits outstanding. 2 weeks later, there is 1 outstanding. Finally, the last one has arrived, so we pick them all up.



Time to get demolishing. Ed removed all of the tiles from the walls, as well as the marble worktops and pillars. He also gutted the pantry and the loose floor tiles, leaving a shell - and a house full of brick dust!