| lesley153
|
I asked what they do with their leftover bits of metal and he said they have drivers to collect them. As I suspected - they do a professional clear-up job.
The last rag-and-bone men I saw were on the telly. Albert and 'Arold, I seem to remember! |
Reply #3021. Jul 12 11, 3:07 PM
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| C30
|
Lesley........why am I reminded of the old Music Hall song, "The Gasman Commeth"? (or something like that title)
".......it all makes work for the working man to do ..."
Reply #3022. Jul 12 11, 3:07 PM
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bloodandsand 
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A truck just doesn't seem right! Do they still give out donkey stones?
Reply #3023. Jul 12 11, 3:25 PM
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Rowena8482
|
We get quite a few rag n bone men here, and one or two do still have horses and carts. Todays was in a flatbed truck though. They always seem to know when someone is having work done, and right behind the workmen's van will come the rag n bone men "just happening to be passing" and "would you mind if we took that" - it's good though because it saves on skip fees (dumpster for our american friends :-D) or having to pay the council to take big stuff away.
Reply #3024. Jul 12 11, 4:59 PM
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| lesley153
|
| Rowena - great minds, or just Lego-lovers? |
Reply #3027. Jul 12 11, 5:09 PM
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satguru
|
I've never heard of donkey stones before- donkey drops and horse apples, but not donkey stones. I do now!
Reply #3028. Jul 12 11, 6:43 PM
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| veronikkamarrz
|
Sooo...No hot water till maybe tomorrow? Good grief! I can do without a few things, but I don't think that's one of them! It's odd, that they've had a chuckle over how BIG the old one was, but no one has made sure how the new 'dainty' one was going to fit! Good luck, and happy cold shower...;)
Reply #3029. Jul 12 11, 8:17 PM
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| C30
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Thank you folks for the reminders of that old song.....always seemed very true to life!
As with fellow "Soft Southerners" I too had never heard of "Donkey Stones".........thanks to Rowena by lack of education in that department has been rectified!
Walks away whistling "Dixie"....
Reply #3030. Jul 13 11, 12:25 AM
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Rowena8482
|
I had heard of a donkey stone, but only because they appear in Joan Jonker's books - for some reason the working class women of Liverpool seem to spend an inordinate amount of time scrubbing their front doorsteps snowy white, just in time for their children to come home and tread dirt all over them again...
Reply #3031. Jul 13 11, 2:54 AM
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bloodandsand
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We hardy northeners are out there in all weathers, using our donkey stones, walking our whippets and scoffing down our hovis!
Reply #3032. Jul 13 11, 12:15 PM
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flopsymopsy
|
Erm... that famous "northern" Hovis ad with the boy pushing his bike uphill was filmed in Dorset!
Reply #3033. Jul 13 11, 12:39 PM
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bloodandsand
|
I know - it was the bread I was talking about.
Reply #3034. Jul 13 11, 1:07 PM
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| C30
|
I'm sailing very close to the wind in any North v South "Black cats up North are blacker than black cats down South"...I'm married to a Scouse lady!
Reply #3035. Jul 13 11, 1:24 PM
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Rowena8482
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Ah, but does she feel the need to donkeystone the front step daily C30? for fear of what the neighbours will say if it isn't snowy white? :-D
Reply #3036. Jul 13 11, 1:34 PM
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bloodandsand
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I quite like southeners, whether they donkeystone or not!
Reply #3037. Jul 13 11, 1:55 PM
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| C30
|
Rowena............not in the past 15 years to my knowledge!
When I first came up here, my wife said something about me soon sounding like a Scouser............I have to report that 15 years on, she can do a passable Suffolk accent, but I am no nearer sounding like a Northerner than I was in 1996!
Reply #3038. Jul 13 11, 2:50 PM
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| lesley153
|
My H was born in Manchester, and spent much of his early life Oop North in Lancashire, where the seagulls are black. He said he'd scrub his neck and put a clean white shirt on for school. By the time he got to his front gate, his collar would be black.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Update Wednesday.
The fitter arrived before nine and immediately went upstairs with a new bright blue tank, longer and thinner than the one they brought yesterday. This fitted, and he fitted it. The two other men joined him later in the morning.
The new titchy boiler has a much smaller flue, but they've filled the void on the outside wall with bricks and plaster. Inside, there is now an area of naked brickwork between the boiler and the edge of the tiles. I don't care. it works!
They have fitted everything and closed all the spaces, and they've made temporary electrical connections to check that the system works. The Proper Electrician will come on Friday morning to connect it, and will also fit a programmer next to the boiler, and a thermostatic thingy on the radiator in the hall. The radiators are warm and the water is hot, which is rather nice.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The system is full of sludge, thanks to a succession of plumbers who didn't spot it. The cleaner they've used has to stay in the system for at least three days, to break up the sludge, and then it's "power-flushed" out of the system. The men agreed that it was the worst - sludgiest - system they had ever seen. The cleaner comes in bottles big enough to treat ten radiators, and they've used two bottles of the strongest one made. It's going to stay in the system for a week. Meanwhile, we have to keep the system running, to help the cleaner work.
I said my goodbyes and went off to my exercise class. Jonathan stayed with them and made sure he understood how the system works.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I got home about an hour after they'd gone, to find water all over the hall floor. One of the joints to the hall radiator was squirting water everywhere, and it couldn't be shut off because it's the one that hasn't got a valve because it's waiting for the thermostatic thingy.
It's sorted now, with a call to the office, and conversation with the fitter, who was already an hour away, sitting in traffic jams on a trunk road, and a capable son with a giant spanner. (The fitter was quite pleased that he didn't have to turn back to fix it!)
I wonder if there's anything else left to go wrong! |
Reply #3039. Jul 13 11, 6:22 PM
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| veronikkamarrz
|
I'm sure the 'fitter' WAS thrilled not to have to make another trip...But why wasn't everything checked, to make sure there were NO leaks? Thank goodness you have the 'handy sprog' to close it up, and help mop it up! ;)
Reply #3040. Jul 13 11, 7:25 PM
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