Tuesday 25 January 2011

Doldrums


meaning listless, despondent, inactive, stagnant, 
in a slump.

The cure for this?

Empty one kitchen cupboard,
decant all useable comestibles into clean jars,
throw out, reluctantly,
anything with a sell by date circa 2006,
clean the shelves,
put everything back.
...

We interrupt this post to report 
a sudden terrifying roaring, rumbling
thunderous, house-shaking cacophany
emanating from the airing cupboard.
With a pounding heart and shaking hands
I have just managed 
to switch everything off in there,
all the while expecting to be
sprayed with exploding fragments of copper pipe 
and scalding water.

The Emergency Home Care service
which we pay through the nose for
has offered a visit sometime between midday and six p.m
tomorrow.
They lack the sense of urgency that 
this plumbing calamity warrants.

I will never complain about the
doldrums again.
I have allowed myself two Youtubes
to settle my nerves.



On a more positive note,
someone did come to switch all our lights off in the kitchen.
We can't switch them on now,
but I feel this is less wasteful.

5 comments:

  1. Boiler emergency? Bad luck.
    I called my plumber at 9.15 on Saturday morning and our boiler was fixed by 11.30. The radiators hardly had time to cool down.
    I am not bragging - just very grateful.

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  2. The pump I think. The boiler sounded quite normal.

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  3. Oh poor you, hope all is quiet again in the airing cupboard tomorrow. But very impressed with your efforts in those other cupboards in the kitchen!

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  4. It always amazes me. Once disaster threatens, I look back and really miss the doldrums. Suddenly they seem no worse than a self-imposed tepid bath.

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  5. I worry in case you caught this domestic disaster virus from me, but then decided to make it more intense! I was more self-disciplined, and stopped at 3 tins of spilled paint. I think you should exercise similar restraint, Lucille. Your nerves will thank you for it....

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