Day 36...

It has been a bit of a bugger of a day today.  Savvas No1 was due this morning at 9.00am to fit the cooker, hob and extractor.  Fortunately we were up early (as per normal!!) and John discovered, just before Savvas was due to arrive, that there was insufficient conduit to cope with it all.  Mad panic ensued and John managed to get things sorted about a mili-second before Savvas arrived.  He is a very genial man who speaks very little English but a damn sight more than we speak Greek.  He got everything fitted and was testing it all out when we found that the hob seemed to be locked so we couldn't test out the rings.  Just when we thought we had purchased a right old lemon Savvas managed to get it all working - I could have kissed him!!

Dad had phoned this morning to tell us how to check which of the pipes carried the drinking water so that John could alter the tap in the kitchen.  We switched the pump off and sometime later, after John had done what he needed to do, I went across to switch it back on again. 

Oh my God you have never heard anything like the explosion that ensued when I flicked the switch which was then followed by piping hot water gushing from the roof.  I was absolutely shell-shocked I can tell you.  I thought the house had been blown up or something - John had to go up onto the roof and you can see the pipe that had come adrift from the system.  We had to do an emergency call to Savvas No 2 the solar heating plumber who said that he would be over late this afternoon.  As an emergency we got out our solar shower packs just in case...

It has been very hot here today - at 14.09 the weather station showed that it was 32.5 outside and 26.8 inside but fortunately the humidity here is very low - I find the climate quite comfortable but when John is working he leaks like our solar heating!

As we waited for Savvas No2 to arrive I spent the day doing admin - getting the paperwork ready for our trip to immigration next week and getting my tax form filled in - god I hate paperwork. 

John did a number of other jobs around the house including tackling our big tree that had a severe pruning only a couple of months ago and although it gets no care and attention it sprouts like the devil.  We dont know what it is but it is full of sap that smells like turpentine and it stinks and is very sticky when you try and clear it.

John has also fitted the gecko that I bought back in the UK onto the wall outside our bedroom.  He is a smasher and is about 10 inches or so long and made of metal. 

We are being careful not to attach too many things to the walls of the main buildings - we dont want to introduce anything that could allow the rain to get in during the winter.

As late afternoon moved into early evening we rang Savvas No2 to see what time he was planning to arrive only to be told that he would be with us about 7.00pm!!  Over here it gets dark not long after 8.00pm!!!  Still as we waited we sat out in the garden and just took in the scenery - later afternoon is a really nice time of the day and the fields and the hills look stunning.

Savvas No2 eventually pitched up at just after 7.00pm with his gofer.  Apparently the problem occurred because it is TOO HOT!!! It isn't even the height of summer! They replaced the offending pipe and told us that we should use the hot water regularly and if we go away we have to switch the pump off.  I can't tell you how much the experience shook me.

We eventually got to sit down and have some tea at about 8.30pm - it has been a traumatic day so we are chilling out with some naff TV and a glass of red wine.  There sounds like there is some sort of party going on down in the village but we are too tired to go and investigate.