It gets worse...

17th April 2014

Matt spent the morning sorting out practicalities for getting to and from work (new bike helmet, picking up his updated work pc (Linux to Win7), and then came back in time for the fridge freezer to be delivered, and for the return of the locksmith to sort out the window locks (for which the keys could also not be found!)

I and the boy spent the morning travelling from Cardiff to Cambridge, arriving just after lunchtime. An uneventful journey, on time, and met by Matt at the bus stop. We walked to the house, passing the post lady on the way. So far, so good.
We got into the house to find that the post lady had left us some post...  It was addressed to the previous owners AND ANY OTHER OCCUPANTS. It informed us that eviction procedures were in process, and that we would be evicted on 29th April...

A phone call or two later...

I got put on permanent loop by the county court bailiffs, and upon re-ringing found the answering service turned off for Easter. I got fobbed off by the solicitors who did not want to do anything, and got assured by my solicitor that should all get sorted before the bailiffs turn up - we have yet to be convinced, and will ensure that there are people here on the appropriate date...

Once we had dealt with that to the best of our ability on the eve of a four day weekend, we turned back to the practicalities of the house. I had a look at the fire and back boiler. Upon a preliminary inspection, I wussed out and decided I wasn't prepared to turn it on without the advice of someone more qualified to decide.

So, we managed to borrow a couple of hot water bottles and an electric heater for the evening, and Matt did a fantastic job of persuading British Gas to come out for a check over of all the gas appliances (hob and fire/back boiler) ON A BANK HOLIDAY (much kudos to him!)

We got taken out for a cuppa by the lovely Anna, and then came back for tea, and the arrival of Amanda with extra bedding, which was definitely useful in the absence of heating! We took rather a long while to heat up the tea (ready meals, put in saucepans in the oven!) and then gave up and went to bed, to gather our strength for what the morrow would bring...