June and half of July…
The beginning of June saw
us start to get the house ready for going away, spring cleaning as much as we
could and trying to keep up with the garden which, in true Guernsey fashion,
was exploding with growth. Keen to get
it all done before Jonny, Adele and Fabulous Finn arrived, we interspersed
house and garden chores with looking after our Airbnb guests from Switzerland,
happily esconced in our guest ‘wing’, various church activities – making scones
for the café, serving coffee on a couple of Sundays and, for me, attending a
seaweed products promotional evening. Naomi Tustin, a friend from our home
group, runs the seaweed food side of The Seaweed Company while her husband
creates skin care products. Quite fascinating.
Add in hosting my monthly
ladies’ breakfast, meeting up with a friend for Bible study and prayer every
Friday, catching up on Zoom with my brother and some close friends, and meeting
Guernsey friends for supper – busy.
Of course, I also spent
time gathering things for Finn’s visit: a tiny wetsuit, small toys and a potty
from Sarah and larger toys – including a buggy, a slide and a music mat – from my
colleague Claire who lives nearby.
The family were with
us for a wonderful three weeks. We spent more time on the beach then we had
done in three years – a source of endless delight for Finn and for us as we
watched him constantly entertain himself with exciting discoveries and
experiences. Finn enjoyed the children’s pool, where we could put his feet
down, while Jonny went off on runs – including a practice 70km plus run all
around the island.
Water – or liquids – was
a bit of a theme. Swimming. Sea. Swimming pool. Finn – water play is a
favourite activity, so the beach toys were put to good use along with various
cooking implements.
Another strong theme was
Breakdown, Repairs and Replacements.
First off was the
dishwasher, which had been progressively underperforming for some time. We
blamed the tablets, the programme in use, the stacking (over-stacking is a
regular feature, as we are the King and Queen of Cramming Everything In. (Not
just regarding dishwashers, either…)
Anyway, the dishwasher
eventually just stopped working altogether. At least, it ran – cold, and didn’t
clean anything.
After much internet
research, a bit of you-tubing and a lot of testing out various theories as to
What Had Gone Wrong, we came to the conclusion that it was time to replace it.
It has been a great machine – a Kuppersbusch, along with the other kitchen appliances
– but was at least 11 years old, if not longer, so time to replace.
A quick trip down to
Valpy’s and one was on order. Had to wait a week, which involved an awful lot
of washing by hand, and then it arrived just a few days before we were due to
move out before our first guests of the season arrived.
Eschewing the prospect of
paying an additional £80 to have it installed, we decided to do it ourselves.
How hard could it be? Quite hard, actually. It took 4 hours, which included a
trip back to Valpy’s to a) but a socket to plug the dishwasher in, and b) to
ask about some parts which appeared to be missing. Turned out they weren’t:
said parts were on the installation diagram but didn’t actually exist. We got
there in the end, refitting the concealing door and leaving out only two of all
the screws supplied. Phew.
In the interim, the sink
developed a leak. It had had a crack since we moved in, but obviously the
pressure of a sink full of soapsuds and dirty dishes caused water to seep
through underneath.
I really didn’t mind
having all the cleaning fluids and recycling bins scattered round the dining
room while we scratched our heads, wondered if it was repairable and researched
the cost of a new sink (over £400!! Eek!). In the end, all was solved with a
little Sink Repair Glue - superglue in disguise - underneath and a wait of a
couple of days to make sure it had dried.
Before and after this,
Richard struggled with the water system in the motorhome which had stopped. Was
the pump broken and needed replacing? No. Was it a fault in the taps? Didn’t
appear to be, although the motorhome taps have microswitches and cost upwards
of £130 EACH. Wiring or the electrical
relay? Perhaps, but most of the system was inaccessible. Internet research
again yielded similar experiences , obvious or useless suggestions and a lot of
head-scratching. The most useful tip was the guy who got so fed up with his
issue that he gave the pump a good welly and got it all working… In the end,
Richard did something similar and got it all working.
For a week or so. Then it
gave up again, with no water coming out of any of the taps. Probably a loose connection somewhere in the
wiring, but, with only a few days left before we were to leave for France, we
didn’t want to spend the time or effort in pulling everything apart. (All the
seat cushions out, hatches lifted and too many tools scattered all around. No,
not going to happen.) The solution was to wire a connection directly from the
cigarette lighter, which would pump water when the engine was switched on. Or
using a water carrier for everything instead. The last option seemed the most
practical, so we filled up a collapsible jerrican and were set to go.
The final ‘liquid’ issue
was when, after filling up with diesel, the cap wouldn’t go back on properly.
Hmmm. A lot of fiddling, and after 5
minutes or so R managed to lock it.
Having said all this: I
am SO thankful that everything happened when it did. A new dishwasher just
before we were due to go away means, hopefully, a RELIABLE dishwasher which
will do its job and won’t break down. So thankful that all the issues didn’t happen
a few weeks later!
By mid-July, the house
was ready to leave. It seemed that every nook and cranny had been scoured out –
multiple times, as spiders and flies crept back into the house every time we
turned out backs. J, A, and Finn left just before to spend time with Adele’s
lovely family. And so…. Off to France. See you in September!
