* Not something that Robert said to me back in the 1970s.
In explanation, at Murray Roberts the Wellington Wine and Spirit Merchant, when I decided to seek promotion from shop assistant to the lofty position as a delivery driver I was put under the tutelage of Robert, at the time the senior part-time truck driver. Richard, Robert's older and wiser brother had moved on and Robert the - well, you can work it out - stepped into Richard's shoes (boots really, and usually unlaced). I don't know why but he was trusted and this was years before anyone suspected that he was a Christian. Robert had a HT licence which in those days marked him as one of the cognoscenti. They didn't need Masonic handshakes or weird Illuminati rituals those truck drivers, they just needed a HT licence and, of course, plaid shirts, jeans, boots (unlaced) and a decent smattering of body odour.
As Robert's pupil I had to sit in the passenger seat of the 'big truck', watch what he was doing and endure his endless monologue on safe driving techniques, best gear changing practices and secure loading. Yes, yes, yes but I wanted to drive. Badly. And I did - later - drive badly. Robert was appalled at some of my antics when he, begrudgingly, let me get behind the wheel of the big truck (not the smaller Bedford). See: ROBERT . He would allow me, under supervision to drive forwards but would never condone me reversing the vehicle.
Anyway, what this post is about is that we have a hiccup in our house sale plans. It looks like we will have to have the overhead power line removed and underground power line installed. I don't know how long this will take but I'm not holding my breath. I told The Old Girl to forget about listing the house before Christmas as it might be a couple of months before we get the job done. I started the process with phone calls to our electricity provider GreyPower, the lines provider Northpower and an electrician but can already see that we are going in circles with the looming form-filling and consent process let alone factoring in a time for a work crew to dig channels etc. The neighbours who recently put in a concrete driveway which is in the way won't be best pleased either. Hey ho.
4 comments:
Sorry to hear about the power line. What a pain!
I don't think your Murray Roberts stories are completely accurate.
You spotted that did you?
I've arranged a builder and an electrician and on their advice have contacted Northpower who, to their credit have got on to it quickly assigning a Design Team work number and a promise that a designer will be in contact. They did apologise that as it's close to Christmas the normal time-lines might be extended. It looks like we won't be listing the house until the new year - maybe end of January. It'll give us more time to do the repair and maintenance jobs though which are seemingly endless.
Post a Comment