January 2022 - iPhone photos

Brian's birthday falls on January 1st.   I usually take him out to lunch somewhere -  often his choice, but sometimes mine.    This year he decided that as it was a fairly sunny day we should go down to Bognor.  You will know that this is a favourite place for us to visit.   It was quite blustery and the sea was a bit choppy, but it all helps to blow the cobwebs away.

 

There was quite a small crowd of people stopped here outside the yacht club so we asked what was going to happen.  It turned out that each January 1st a group of local swimmers gather in the yacht club and then all take a swim in the sea.  Many people thought this might not happen because the sea was too choppy.   We stopped for a bit, but nothing was happening, so we walked on.

I wasn't sure if these fishermen were just coming or going.

My Christmas Cactus has been in flower since November.

We had noticed the smell of gas for probably about a year outside our house at the entrance to our drive.  It was very intermittent as we didn't notice it for weeks, then there would be a faint whiff.  Then just before Christmas our neighbour opposite said she had noticed it, but we decided we wouldn't report it then, but wait until after Christmas as it was still intermittent and quite faint.   Then a couple of weeks later someone knocked on our door at 9 o'clock one evening stating she could smell gas outside our house.   We reported it the next morning and someone came out within an hour.   We were told it was quite a bad leak, but not at the entrance to our drive, but outside in the road in a line with the side of our house, i.e. the middle of the wall.  It was arranged for workmen to come the next day.   We had to go out, and when we came back, this is what we found.   A hole in the wall, and three holes in our garden.  Apparently, it was decided that as we had mentioned we have to have a new boiler sometime in the spring, they would replace the gas pipes to the house and move the gas meter.

This is the new meter - moved from where it was concealed in a small brick box, and now prominently displayed on the side of the house.  I am not happy but had no choice.

It was all done very quickly in three days and replaced very tidily, even putting down grass seed in the lawn they had dug up.  We were given two electric fan heaters to use whilst the gas was off.   We came downstairs on the last day to find a card through our door stating that someone had called to reconnect the gas and test the appliances but no one was in.    They had called at midnight!!

------------------------------------------