2024 Quick Daily Posts

[richardandtracy]

I'm back from a week at my dad's place in a pre-planned attempt to repair leaks in the roof, one round a chimney and the balcony/porch. My brother and a friend came from Spain and I went too.

Ho hum.

The balcony/porch roof was a good deal worse than I had ever guessed. The roof had been made with slater's felt and edged with roofing felt. This formed a puddle on top of the felt to increase the chance of leakage. My brother took an incautious pace on the balcony and punched his foot right through the top and bottom surfaces. He sprained his other ankle and ended up going to A&E to be certain there were no breaks.
My brother's friend & I then re-did the porch roof with new joists, board and facia panels. We also roofed it with lead to make sure the same never happens again. On the last day it pelted with rain as we finished the lead, and it stayed watertight. Yee ha!

The chimney leak was protected by a Hornets nest close to it - and I didn't fancy annoying them as they looked bigger than wasps and smaller than normal hornets, so possibly 'Asian Hornets' which are hyper aggressive.

Regards,

Richard

[Mabel Figworthy]

On the last day it pelted with rain as we finished the lead, and it stayed watertight. Yee ha!

Victory!

[wendywombat]

Belated condolences Richard and Tracy.

You have all been through so much recently and I'm sorry to hear about this latest news. Not surprised that you feel 'rudderless' .

Sending virtual Hugs to you all.
Wendy x

[richardandtracy]

Thanks Wendy. Much appreciated.

Regards,

Richard

[Steam.Jo]

Its worth identifying if they are Asian Hornets as the authorities will remove them free of charge

Jo

[Serinde]

On the last day it pelted with rain as we finished the lead, and it stayed watertight. Yee ha!

Victory!

Indeed, a major victory!

And do check out the hornet's nest -- if it is Asian variety, you want to get rid sharpish!

[richardandtracy]

I'm aware of what I need to do if the hornets are Asian ones. I do need to definitively identify that they are really that type. I'm going back tomorrow to register dad's death on Wednesday, and I will have a chance to better look at them, and maybe get a photo.

The porch roof does feel like a win, I must admit.

Regards,

Richard

[Serinde]

Good idea,

[richardandtracy]

Couldn't get close enough to see if they were the wrong type of Hornet, and it rained hard, so couldn't see many anyway. Will try to arrange a pest controller to go. Don't hold out too much hope, seems if you don't have the right burr in your voice in N Devon, you're a grockle (pejorative Devon term for a 'Tourist') & can be ignored safely.

Regards,

Richard

[Steam.Jo]

The wrong type of Hornet are black - like a Horntail. The nice type of Hornet are a lovely golden yellow.

There is no point in killing a wasp nest in September its a waste of money they are about to peg out and those that remain will move on and not return.

Jo

[Mabel Figworthy]

Start practicing saying "horrrrrnet"....

[richardandtracy]

Oh what a weekend.

MIL & BT. Do I need to say more?
Probably do, actually.

Her phone isn't working. Again. Last time it just didn't ring. This time it's dead & the emergency alarm isn't working, either. BT promised to do something over the weekend. And failed.
She has early stage dementia & can't cope with even the simplest simple mobile phone, so that's not an option.

Then Saturday 7th, we left her with two open windows because it was hot. We checked 3 times with her whether she could close them herself. She said yes. So, obviously, she couldn't do it when she needed to. And, instead of doing the logical thing of shutting the door on the room and ignoring it, she sat by the window for two nights to deter 'The Burglar' (none seen in her close for 25 years, but apparently will telepathically know when an unguarded window is open), and got no sleep at all. She tried to phone us, but refer to the BT problem already mentioned. Eventually called for help to a neighbour who was walking their dog. She now needs feeding up as she didn't eat while guarding the window, got very cold & got dehydrated too. Makes you want to scream.

Regards,

Richard.

[Mabel Figworthy]

Oh dear, Richard, how worrying for you - and for poor MIL. Her anxieties may be irrational, but they are still anxieties, and then there are the physical consequences you mention. Do BT have any provision for vulnerable customers? I've also heard that people get results sometimes by emailing/messaging the CEO of a company direct, that might be an idea.

[richardandtracy]

She is supposedly on their list of vulnerable customers.
We simply can't see any efforts being made by BT anywhere, it's delay, delay, deny, deny as far as we can see.

Frustrating.

Regards,

Richard

[Steam.Jo]

It sounds like your MIL needs daily care to make sure she is safe and well. And you cannot be expected to deliver it on your own. It is cheaper to find someone you trust locally to her to drop in everyday than to let the Council arrange something. Was she a member of the local Church or any community groups where she had friends?

If you have made BT aware of their failure to repair (what is for your MIL a potentially life saving communications link) and they have not sorted it out in a timely manner, then next complain to the ombudsman: https://www.commsombudsman.org/raise-di ... esidential . BT cannot be allowed to ignore the vulnerable I know it is difficult to complain but in engineering we called it process improvement: if someone doesn't report an identified problem then more people will suffer with the same problem.

Jo

[richardandtracy]

MIL phoned Tracy up mid afternoon, and got through. She had forgotten that the phone didn't work, and when she phoned, it did work.

I did have to go round to test her emergency wristband as that didn't seem to be working. And found the phone wires in the back of the unit were in the wrong holes. If MIL (a very unreliable witness) is to be believed, her cleaner tried to fix it last week and may have swapped the wires over. Anyway, I got her to press her wrist band to test it, and that went OK. Five minutes later she'd forgotten the test & was convinced it still didn't work. And the same five minutes after that.

As for getting help.. We are trying to persuade her to have a carer come in twice a week to help her wash & shower. We'd time them to come in on the days that no-one else comes in. Unfortunately, MIL doesn't want to bother anybody with her problems, so presents a happy face to most people who come in.

Regards,

Richard

[Steam.Jo]

so presents a happy face to most people who come in.

Perfect so friends will be happy to visit for a cuppa and some biscuits/cake and have a chat about the world. I would recommend you provide the cakes and let her friends know she needs their help to eat the cakes so she does not eat too many herself/forget about them and they go stale .

Jo

[Serinde]

Oh help and bother! Short-term memory loss is the very devil in these circumstances. MIL’s situation sounds very frightening for everyone in different ways, and a better solution has to be found. But that’s glaringly obvious to you all! My BIL is in this unhappy no-man’s-land of early stage dementia, too, and SIL has been putting into place various coping strategies, but (crucial difference) she’s there all the time with him, and he’s still capable of reliably looking after his personal care, no matter everything else that’s awry. Until recently, he’s been pretty steady on his pins, but he did have a bad fall (broke some ribs), so that’s added to the worry list. Did I mention she’s exhausted? Something you are also more than familiar with.

[richardandtracy]

Steam.Jo,
My MIL won't allow any friends into the house any more. I think she's ashamed of the amount of dirt in her absolutely spotless house. She has always been OCD about keeping the house clean (all morning, every morning, 7 days a week for as long as I can remember), and is now exhausting herself cleaning the house before the cleaner comes in - she can't remember which day it is. She knows the cleaner comes in Tuesday, but as she doesn't know the day it is, she gets up extra early every day to get the cleaning done before the cleaner comes. She has a clock where the day of the week is visible in 3/4"/20mm letters, but is never quite sure what it means. If the clock says Wednesday, does it mean tomorrow is Wednesday, or was it yesterday? It never occurs to her that it means it's Wednesday 'Now'.

Gaah!


Serinde,
I do hope SIL manages to work something out. I can fully understand the exhaustion going on. The problem is that it'll only get worse. Ghastly disease.


Dad's funeral is next week, however we have a good few things to arrange on the days we're there. House valuation being part of it. Need an estate agent to look at the house too. A house clearance company.. Car disposal (just had a 'valuation' from our local breaker's of £80 assuming it was only 3 miles away and could be broken for spares), and also need to arrange for a light van removals company to give me a quote for the bits in the house to be kept.

Just for fun, the motherboard on my main PC at home seems to have failed - I can't believe all three hard drives (1 Solid state & two normal hard drives) will have failed at the same time. It's a bit frustrating as the thing can't boot up any more.

Regards,

Richard

[Serinde]

Yes, it certainly is. Seems to happen to the nicest people, too.

And I bet it’s frustrating (and that’s a huge understatement) to have everything go phutt at the same time. Must be the time of year.