A bit too much

Just a cow I met, September 2025

At Maternal Manor I started to tackle the water leak issue by contacting Thames Water via their Chat facility to find out how serious the problem is based on the readings from the water meter. After 90 minutes and three different agents who ignored my specific question I was passed to someone new who just gave me the answer I wanted. During the chat I not only took mum out to visit a friend but also went up into the loft to see what was there and how much space there might be - only to discover that there is a distinct noise of trickling water coming from the tank. Lola II nobly volunteered to contact a plumber. The kitchen trench is probably dry enough to be filled in now so there's a whole lot more work involved in getting two quotes for the full kitchen refurbishment so we can go back to the insurer.

I finally did it - I contacted one of the estate agents and started the process of selling Lola Towers.  I spent a full day making the house ready for photos - mowing the lawn, a trip to the tip with the remains of the garden table, putting everything out of sight into cupboards and the garage. It was all tidy enough for photos, but there will need to be a whole lot more cleaning before I'll be happy for people to see it close up. And it was utterly exhausting. 

The estate agent rep (who is very enthusiastic) took photos and measurements, next day someone else did some drone photography, and another person came to complete the Energy Performance Certificate and floor plan. The draft brochure for the house arrived from the estate agent, and while it does look very nice I've got quite a lot of work to do in tidying it up and suggesting different wording for the worst bits. Meanwhile someone else came and took more surplus bricks away, I touched up the paint on the Auditorium walls and the hall ceiling, and I remain exhausted.

A weekend with friends in Nottingham provided some respite, except it meant less time at home for the jobs that remain. A blood donation didn't go well and left me with a very painful arm, and a Buddhist film night at my house was so undersubscribed that I invited Nameless Man (who's not a Buddhist) to join us just to make it worth showing the film. That was probably the last public screening in my Auditorium. And a friend from Ireland came to stay on the way to a retreat. She is in the process of being diagnosed as having coeliac disease and has been pretty ill with it, so it's important that my host duties include keeping her away from gluten. At least that's within my skillset.

It's all a bit much, really. It's to be expected because in April I really cut down on my commitments but in May I didn't hold back, and I've ended up with a bit too much to do. But I'm keeping myself steady and focussed, trying to prioritise the urgent things and not stress about the rest.

Consideration of furniture

Scarborough, April 2026

I've been at Maternal Manor for a few days either side of a weekend break in York. Mum and I have continued to weed out all sorts of items - clothes, furniture and much else - and have been celebrating that there seem to be no more stamps or envelopes stashed away anywhere. We're doing a little bit of forward planning, imagining where my stuff might fit in the house, what I will put into storage and what I will get rid of. There are three large items of furniture that we agreed can be removed. One is the oval kitchen table that dad made about 45 years ago, the second is a large wardrobe in the second bedroom upstairs (soon to be my bedroom), and the third is a sofabed whose foam mattress disintegrates more every time it is moved. 

We asked the British Heart Foundation to take the wardrobe and the table; they asked if the table came with any chairs so mum considered the chair situation and decided that she could give them the six kitchen chairs and keep the six dining chairs. When they came they rejected the wardrobe saying it couldn't be safely extracted with the stair lift in the way, so I spent a couple of hours taking it apart. I took the bits that would fit in my car to the tip, and the rest is awaiting further consideration in the garage. We put a small set of wooden drawers on the driveway next to the pavement, because in the past people have helpfully taken such things. I had my doubts, as they weren't particularly attractive or sound, but they disappeared almost immediately.

Mum had a few jolly and no-so-jolly trips out. After her Covid vaccination we went to Lidl and to the tip (with the wardrobe bits), and on another day I took her to the dentist. All the people she meets at these places are, without exception, incredibly kind - the receptionist at the dentist offered to remove their barriers to parking on the forecourt next time we visit. She has new gardeners who are also very pleasant and helpful, although she is somewhat doubtful of their skills at distinguishing plants from weeds.

My jolly trip was to York where I spent a couple of days with my friend T, and we went to Scarborough together. The weekend weather was glorious, but being on the coast Scarborough with a fresh breeze was a few degrees colder than York, so I got somewhat chilled. We ate chips and ice cream on the sea front and T paddled in the sea - that's her in the photo. I declined the opportunity to paddle, being cold enough already.

Back at Maternal Manor the kitchen trench is drying out nicely with the dehumidifier in action, but I've done a couple more tests on the water supply. Unfortunately there still seems to be water being lost somewhere in the system - with my newly acquired expertise gained from Severn Trent I'm aware that it's possible that it's being lost via the drains rather than into the floor, walls or foundations.

His Majesty's Revenue and Customs featured significantly during my visit. I called the technical helpline about online access to my tax accounts, the call was answered almost immediately and my problem completely solved. Mum's tax issue on a separate call to the tax helpline took a little longer, and was probably resolved - we'll know in a couple of weeks. I hope never to have to call them again, but that hope is probably unrealistic.

Still a lot going on

March 2026

I have been doing what feels like full time work on GRUHI, but I'm trying to set aside a bit of time for human interaction.

Cousin H visited Lola Towers at my invitation. This came about because the local history group have been uploading material from their book 'Leamington Spa: A History in 100 Buildings', published in 2018 but now out of print. I've been reading it a page at a time when I have a moment, and it's really very interesting. I was moved to contact them to offer them access to Lola Towers before I sell. 

It's quite possible that all of the buildings in all of the world have some sort of interesting story behind them - when and why they were built, who lived there. I wrote what I knew of the history of Lola Towers in 2017, and Cousin H became interested and did a bit more research, so when the secretary of the history group accepted my invitation to visit, I thought Cousin H might be interested. And also because it was an opportunity to hang out with him.

He arrived the day before, and we went to a play in Stratford at the Swan Theatre which was slightly disappointing but OK, and back in Leamington I took him over to the Royal Pump Rooms to see the display of the history of the town before coming home ready to welcome the history group. But nobody turned up, and when I contacted them it seemed they had visited but somehow had got no answer. So that was a shame, but we've set another date and I hoping it comes to something next time.

On the GRUHI front I've had some success. Photographing and listing stuff is getting a bit easier, and I have a couple more items of value, and then it will be a relief to just take what's left to the tip or the charity shops. UJ bought my bicycle, and I took all sorts of bits and pieces from the garage to a gardening event in the hope that someone would be interested. One person nabbed the strimmer string and another took some hosepipe; I also got rid of two buckets and a seed spreader to Nameless Man at the Library of Things. They are all Eco types who are thoroughly organic, and general horror was expressed at the chemicals I had - at least one is now banned but they told me how to dispose of it all at the local recycling centre, where I am now a very regular visitor.

The Saga of the Water continued with another visit from Severn Trent. This time it was a young woman, who apologised for her colleagues while actually doing the job I'd asked for. She confirmed there was a leak on my side of the water meter - about 1 litre an hour, which sounded like a lot until she told me the story of her previous job which was at a church where water was being lost at the rate of 600 litres an hour. She used a delightful tool to listen to the pipes, which could not have been less technical and comprised an earpiece on a stick. When I said that it might be a good idea to close the stop tap and check again, she expressed some surprise that this hadn't been done on either of the previous visits.

So in conclusion it seems that I have two problems. One is at the front where the water stain appeared, but there are no pipes leaking there and it is very probably water rising from the cellar brickwork below due to all the rain, and the age of the house meaning that there is no proper damp proof course on that wall. So I can hope for drier and warmer weather, while drying out the wall with a heater and dehumidifier and then touching up the paint. The other problem is within the house - maybe a ballcock or seal on a cistern is letting water drip through, because there are no dripping taps or evidence of water leaking (except as mentioned at the front where there aren't any pipes). For this I can engage an ordinary plumber to investigate.

Overwhelm

Woodland Cemetery, March 2026

I've been focussing on friends and GRUHI while keeping an eye on the water issues and also negotiating with the painter and scaffolder. I have a date for Severn Trent to investigate further, and a start date for the scaffolding permit. It's been a bit overwhelming, to be honest.

Anyway, recent GRUHI success stories include donating another box of stuff to a friend who works in a charity shop, another couple of bags to Action 21, and actually selling my tenor saxophone for real money, to someone in my music group who is collecting instruments on behalf of a Scout group. It takes a long time to list things on eBay so I'm only using it for the things that are either easy to send by post or are worth something - so far I've sold a Chromecast Audio device and my Clavinova electric piano, which gave me such pleasure for so many years but realistically I'm not going to play any more. And Lola II has one if I do get desperate.

I've been trying to keep in touch with friends despite feeling as though I'm doing a full time job at the moment. With various people I have gone for walks, seen a film, gone to a comedy show, had a Zoom call and a telephone call, and a coffee morning. In the last week I managed badminton twice, Buddhist group twice, board games, a concert, U3A walking group and spent two days with mum, accompanied by Lola II and Sister D for a trip to the cemetery to see dad's freshly installed gravestone. It was an unusually hot and sunny day and the woodland cemetery full of daffodils, including some on the grave that we definitely hadn't put there. Lola II placed a beautiful boulder she has decorated on the grave, and then we nearly got locked in as we hadn't really taken account of the fact that the cemetery closes at 4pm.

UJ is back in town, although she's staying with friends and is not sure where or when she will settle. She came round to collect the few letters for her that had arrived; we went out for a meal and it was very interesting to catch up. The winter in Ukraine has been particularly cold and conditions are terrible; she thinks her parents may be coming round to the idea of leaving. Nothing can be relied upon, no planning for the future is possible, and Russia has gained from the war between the US and Iran. More than four years since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine and it seems no nearer to ending.

Water, water, every where

Lola Towers, March 2026

It's been a very water-focused winter. So much rain, mum's leaking pipes, evidence of water rising in my Auditorium, and then my boiler also started to make an intermittent noise. I've received a lot of attention from plumbers.

The boiler guy came in the morning of the day that Severn Trent were booked to dig up the pavement in the afternoon, which was quite convenient. In between phases of investigating the boiler noise he was kind enough to take a look in the cellar beneath the water stain. The heating pipes all looked sound and dry but he did comment that the cellar walls are saturated, and the house being the age that it is, there is no effective damp proof course. He tweaked something in the boiler and the noise hasn't recurred yet, but he's going to give me a quote for a replacement fan which will help not only if it fails but also should guide potential house purchasers, should guidance be needed.

In the afternoon the two Severn Trent workers came. I offered them tea or coffee and then discovered that I have no coffee, so that wasn't a good start. They put up signs and barriers and closed the footpath before getting stuck in to the job of digging around the water meter, and were very clear that I was not allowed onto 'the site' to look any closer. Their verdict was that the joint under investigation was not leaking but wouldn't let me through to look in the hole, so I gave them my camera to take a photo, which just showed a puddle in wet gravel. I've now followed up with a text conversation with another plumber, and then went back to Severn Trent to challenge their verdict. The saga continues.

In the meantime I've got a heater set up in the Auditorium which is drying the wall nicely. It keeps raining though. I've also done a test with photographing the water meter at 10pm and 8am and it shows some movement of the dial, but I don't know how significant it is. I did the same at mum's with the same result, so there's Thames Water to contact about that too.

At mum's I also had the job of replacing the knobs on her 40-year-old cooker. I found a company which supplied 'universal' knobs but the kit supplied didn't entirely work without adjustment, which we did using some tubing left over from when dad needed a catheter. I've left mum with one new replacement knob to try out, and if she's happy then we'll replace the rest. [Update - we've put the old ones back.]

Then there's the painting needed of the front of the house. I finally managed to get three acceptable quotes from firms. One was a man on a ladder, which I specifically don't want because of the chimney pointing experience, but when I turned him down he started to argue that he's very experienced with ladders... The second one started talking about payment in cash (the amount is more than £2000). So I picked the third one who advised that the start date will be based on the availability of the scaffolding. 

Then the scaffolding company called to explain the convoluted process of applying for a licence to put up scaffolding on the public highway (the pavement outside my house) and the steps that would need to be taken involving suspending parking, cones and redirecting pedestrians. Let's just say, it's complicated. But after just a day or two he phoned back to say the permit had already been granted and the scaffolding can go up at the end of March.

Progress

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, December 2025

The third visit from Lee the plumber at Maternal Manor was supervised by Lola II. He continued to track the pipes under the kitchen floor and extended the trench towards the sink, and at last found a leak. Both Lola II and I greeted this news with great joy and the observation that we've never been so glad to discover a broken pipe. After a brief discussion of what to do next, we all agreed that the full length of the pipes should be uncovered, and thank goodness it was because a second leak was found further along. Lee replaced the whole section of pipe and lagged and protected it properly; now we're waiting for his report for insurance claim purposes. Meanwhile I took possession of the promised dehumidifier (which I'll take there next time I visit) which will remove as much of the water as possible before the trench is filled in, and then redecorating can start.

GRUHI has been going slowly but steadily. I managed to give away the tennis racquet via the Olio online platform, but nearly didn't. Olio seems to be used by young people, and the prospective recipient relied very heavily on WhatsApp to the extent that when he messaged me that he was outside the door and I didn't answer immediately, he considered going away again. I did see the message after a few minutes and went down to open the door, asking why he hadn't rung the doorbell. He seemed somewhat surprised at this suggestion. Make of that what you will.

Having lost so much weight (6kg now) I thought I'd revisit a bag of trousers that I grew out of but kept because I was particularly fond of them 40 years ago. They are all a similar size which is still considerably smaller than I am now, and I painfully resolved to part with them, with support from Lola II (who has been reading a book about decluttering). They and more surplus clothes have now gone to the clothes bin at the supermarket, to Action 21 along with a box of books and some random household ephemera, and a blanket and old duvet have gone to the The Dog's Trust after Guide Dogs said they didn't want them. I haven't yet advertised the big bookcase, the electronic piano and the tenor saxophone.

My Diabetes Prevention Programme coach is very encouraging, but still highly unsatisfactory in terms of providing anything other than someone to be accountable to. I ignore her advice which mostly consists of suggesting that I eat more. This advice is clearly intended to help moderate blood sugar spikes, but I am focussing more on calories and portion sizes which seems to be working so far in terms of weight. I have asked for a repeat blood test but the doctor has told me to wait until the end of February, so I'll have to wait some more to find out if all my efforts have made any difference in that respect.

There's been plenty of exercise, particularly over one 24-hour period when I did an hour with my personal trainer, went to Coventry for a gig where I stood for 1½ hours then danced my socks off for 1½ hours then had to run for the train, and next morning joined my U3A ramblers for 2½ hours. That was all quite tiring, but the gig was fantastic and I picked up the dehumidifier at the end of the walk, so worth it. My Monday badminton was slightly difficult, however, when they put on the regular end-of-year competition and I came very definitely in last place. Not so long ago (or so it seems) I was in contention for the winning position. My self-esteem was somewhat restored when I played in a match with my Thursday badminton ladies which we won.

The kitchen roof at Lola Towers started to leak during one of the recent storms, and quite a lot of water came through. It hasn't repeated this performance, but I invited the roofer recommended by Glf to have a look at it, and he came back the very next day to fix it. Standing on the roof with a cup of tea we had a very interesting conversation about the lack of young people interested in following the sort of trades that are needed, and then we talked about the painting I need at the front of the house. It gave me a good deal of food for thought around whether I want a cash trader working from a ladder or someone in a business working from a scaffold tower. The answer is now much clearer, especially after my experience of the dangerous pointing work.

Water trouble again

Maternal Manor, December 2025

The situation in mum's kitchen at the Maternal Manor is not good. There has been evidence of damp rising in the walls for years, which we started by covering up, then more recently we invited a reliable plumber to have a look. It wasn't serious, he said, and he recommended continuing to cover it up, despite the skirting coming away from the wall and tiles lifting. But the meter showed water consumption was increasing, and it was time to act.

Lola II made enquiries with the insurer and Thames Water and identified a WaterSafe approved firm, which turned out to be Lee. After fixing an unrelated issue with the upstairs toilet cistern he poked about under floorboards and in cupboards trying to guess where the water was coming from. On the second visit he pointed out that the unplastered wall under the sink was also showing evidence of damp, and measured the loss of pressure in various parts of the pipework to try and narrow down the possibilities of where a leak might be. Results were sadly inconclusive, so in the end we had to agree that he would dig up the kitchen floor following the pipework from the stopcock to the sink, as this seems the most likely source. The layer beneath the floor is clearly saturated, but so far no actual break in the pipes has been found.

The plumber mentioned that once the leak is fixed it will be necessary to remedy the damp using a dehumidifier. I started casting around via some of the different trading arenas I'm part of, but the one that seems to be the most reliable is my U3A walking group. I was relating the story of the kitchen leak to the person I was walking, who then revealed that she had an unwanted dehumidifier and would be happy to pass it on. [Update also from the walking group: sadly the surgeon who had volunteered to go to the West Bank had a very unpleasant interrogation at the border and was refused entry by the Israeli authorities.]

Meanwhile at Lola Towers I have finished cleaning and arranging UJ's room and have moved back in, trying to take only what I need in an attempt to lose a bit more stuff.  It is taking longer than I anticipated. I advertised a glass-topped coffee table on Freegle, Nextdoor, Olio and eBay (in that order). Olio was the successful channel, and the lucky recipient also took away my corner table (but didn't want the tennis racquet or the large bookcase). I have reconfigured the bedroom I've been using for three years and it's now ready to accept single guests, which is more convenient (and warmer) than making up the sofabed in the Auditorium. That will continue to be used for double guests, however.

Conveniently I did have a single guest staying on Saturday night - Mr M was passing through, and he was able to provide a very valuable service: that of photographer. For I discovered that my passport, although not expiring until April 2026, will not permit me to travel to Europe for skiing at the end of January. It is quite straightforward to apply for a new one online, except that a passport photograph conforming to strict standards is needed, which I am unable to provide without assistance.

Mr M provided a second valuable service in that he told me how to find out what my PIN is on a new credit card that I've received. For these services and because it is only humane I turned the central heating on for the duration of his visit (and a little bit longer). For my experiment in heating myself instead of the house is fine in the Office (fan heater), Auditorium (heated blanket) and bedroom (hot water bottle) but the kitchen floor is icy. My latest idea is to buy slippers with a more insulating sole.