Friday October 17, 2008
The telephone man came, connected the line and initiated our telephone service. He also installed a new ADSL socket and assured me it was connected and tested out to the local exchange. Sadly, the broadband service will not be enabled until ‘after midnight’. Hey ho. The world will not end, though I give fair notice that it’ll rock a bit if I wake tomorrow (Saturday) and find we’re still not online.
It was close to lunch time when the guy left, so Graham and I took ourselves off to the much-acclaimed Tesco’s supermarket over at Neath Abbey. Not impressed. Rather a restricted range of food stuff and a miserable wine section. And, shock horror, they don’t stock Dolly’s preferred variety of tuna fish, or biscuit, or litter. That rules them out. I’ll try the hypermarket at Fforestfach, the one we used when we lived in Wales the last time. So far as I can remember it’s about 15 miles away, but that’ll give me an added incentive to shop only once or twice a week rather than every day.
The coffee shop/café was however and we sat down to a very welcome hot meal of fried cod and chips. The coffee was awful but then you can’t have everything.
So, the Neath branch of Tesco’s, while friendly and welcoming, isn’t too much use to us except for emergency shopping–it’s a 24 hour store–and for a hot lunch when we’re unable or unwilling to cook for ourselves.
Back home we sat in the kitchen, surrounded by cardboard boxes, and enjoying a fresh danish pastry, served in the top and bottom of the plastic box they came in. Then, siesta time, our first siesta in Wales. Bliss.
I woke first, checked the broadband box, grunted my disapproval, and brewed tea.
“Happy?” Graham asked.
“Oh yes. Rather stiff after all the kerfuffle, but happy as the day is long. You?”
“Blissful. Why don’t you sit in the living room and I’ll get cracking on the kitchen.”
My very own special whirlwind leapt into action and I sat in my armchair, watching the birds fly by. I’m hoping that the weather will be sunny enough to get a little photography done. I want my first pictures of the Aberdulais valley to be bright and sunny–it’s beautiful in the mist and even under cloud, but it looks best when the sun shines.
Now, in the early evening, the kitchen is established, with all the boxes emptied and folded flat, their contents stowed away in the cabinets and cupboards. My initial assessment was correct–this kitchen is larger than the last. A deal of titivation is needed, and will be doled out, but we have a working kitchen once more.
Now the whirlwind is at work in my new study, setting up desk/table, bookshelves and piano for use. He’s promised me he’ll stop in time to sip a well-chilled sauvignon blanc and nibble cheese and grapes while we watch a Stargate and/or a Farscape, and then I’ll heat our dinner while he resumes work in the study. Bedtime will like as not follow pretty closely on dinner. That’s the way of it when we move into a new house.
I just checked the broadband box. Still waiting for the service to be enabled. Grrrr!
