Woke up at eight when John brought me a cuppa. Chloe jumped on bed. Drank tea, looked at emails got up to have breakfast. So far, so good. Post came. Letter from Anglian water saying they think we have a leak. Helpful leaflet suggests getting down to check stopcock, under sinks, pulling the washer and dishwasher out……at aged 84 and 89?
Think ah! But I have plumbing insurance with Anglian Water, so will ring them. Put hearing aids in ( at this point am not dressed) and ring number on letter. After pressing various numbers, I get through to a person. Tell her about letter and insurance. Wrong number for insurance as they are a different company. Meanwhile she says, look under sinks etc etc . Find insurance policy. Print is so small I need magnifying glass to read it. Ring number. Press this, this and this if you want this this or this. If not hold. I hold. Automaton says what is your policy number, please enter with telephone pad. I can’t see the number, in fact I can’t find a number. Automaton repeats instructions 3 times, then asks for post code. By which time I am all hot and flustered. Finally get through to a man. He has a thick Scottish accent and I can’t understand a word he says. He has to repeat nearly everything three times. Finally I say I am 84 and deaf, he puts me on hold. Then a nice young man with crystal clear diction asks if he can help. Get appointment for plumber to come on Monday. Inform John, twice, as he hasn’t got his hearing aid in. Blood pressure is sky high. Go into bathroom, get into shower, start washing hair and realise I still have hearing aids in. Curse, get out of shower, dry hearing aids, get back in shower and finally get dressed. Take medication. Use inhaler for asthma. Remove cat from bed and make it. Put hearing aids back in praying hard. All is well. Go into study, think, I had better put appointment for plumber in diary, open diary, I should be at the Drs in five mins from now. Fling on some shoes and socks, yell at John twice to tell him what’s what, fly into car, get halfway up Northampton road and there are traffic lights on red! Get to Drs, nurse takes blood pressure, it’s off the scale. She takes blood sample, puts a bit of cotton wool on where she put needle in, says hold that. I try to put door keys on desk so that I can hold it, they fall on the floor. I try to catch as falling, finger off cotton wool, I bleed like a stuck pig. Nurse sorts me out, says please take your blood pressure at home a couple of times a day for a week and hand in results. I say OK and go home. It’s 11.30. I’m knackered.
