New Boiler - Day 26

Its been quiet for a while.
Bill, the technical manager, though not the one who made the appointment, came out on the 7th to look at the job.  He thinks running a pipe would be fine, but agrees that crossing the door would not be a good idea. The technical solution of "lifting the slab" and just burying it across the door seems to have been accepted and now he's happy to authorise the work. "Wait for our phone call" seems to be their new logo.
Of course, coming home one night there is a missed call trying to arrange the installation. I call back but they have no dates left suitable for me. I point out how crap they are doing and haven't even started yet and I get the option of an emergency job, but the local manager will have to ring me...Before I hang up though I have them delete my landline from their system so maybe I will get the call.
He does call back but certainly can't do this week and the emergency option is only for 1 man over the weekend, which is not enough for the job. The next available day interferes with me being away on business and they cannot guarantee being done before I have to leave. We finally agree on a day and a team - 2 men on the 11th October should take only 1.5 days to complete the work. Luckily I am on holiday - so I am around but don't have to be here all day for them.
In the meantime the washing machine has been put back into the kitchen so I can resume washing duties. Mixed blessing that one.
Roll on the 11th.

A day on Bute

For the September weekend (not my weekend, that's next weekend, though I intend to work it to use for the October week), Ciaran and I were "invited" or a cycle on the Isle of Bute, another of the many islands of the west coast of Scotland. She knew of an interesting cycle that she had done a few years ago. Since the day was beautiful it became the plan for the day (bad weather would have meant going to Escape in Glasgow for some indoor skiing and eventually Ikea).
The day was nice but the wind was strong - tearing your breath away while on the ferry trip across. Unlike the others who left their helmets with the bike, I foolishly was holding mine until a gust of wind tore it away and belted a small yappy dog - the owner wasn't that pleased, oddly enough.
Once we arrived in Rothesay at around 1130 we organised lunch. After finding a bakery and having sandwiches made up we just figured it was easier to eat now rather than try and cycle with the pieces.

After we ate we started off. Despite not actually having a map, we had quickly checked the route and noticed that there actually aren't that many roads on Bute. Provided we didn't head down a dead end (there are a few) we should be all right. We headed north out of Rothesay and took the left at Kaimes castle avoiding the long dead end heading north to the ferry. Fiona had waned us about the climb so we got stuck in. Towards the top we passed a side road off to the left (south) and then over the top and passed a ruined church with the roof off. At this point Fiona started to believe we were on the wrong road, but seeing how we were enjoying the descent, decided not to make too big an issue of it. Besides, a bus had overtaken us on the climb. If it was a dead end the bus would have to pass us going the other way. As the bus passed us going the other way she decided to let me know. Of course by now we we basically on the coast, down at Ettrick Bay. Luckily for us, Ettrick Bay has a blue flag for swimming and one of the the SEPA electronic signs and information stations. The station had an OS map of the bay which showed a footpath along the shore we might be able to take to get us back on track. Luckily the track was not overgrown and we were able to get back without having to reclimb the hill.
With the lack of roads (or anything else really) on Bute, the road signs all seemed to point back to Rothesay. We would come to a junction and note that Rothesay was the only listed destination, often with wildly different distances. The gave Ciaran the most grief as he would always select the lowest number and be out voted.

Traffic on the island was also quite quiet. We came to one traffic jam where we simply had to wait for the road to clear. But by far the best bits was the spectacular scenery. We could see at different times Arran, Cumbrea, the mainland where we came from, and the mainland jutting down the west coast (Kintyre).
After one of the climbs we rounded a corner to find a rest area with a small car park, a few benches and a viewing platform over looking a lovely beach. It seems this is a favourite seal beach and most days they can be seen from the vantage point.
Despite no binoculars and not really enough zoom on the camera, we did manage to see about half a dozen basking in the sun, some of them quite large.

As we watched the seals an open top bus tour arrived to see them, which certainly none of us were expecting!
We discussed which way to go. Ciaran based on what he had already seen of the island decided that the best option was to follow the bus tour as it was certainly going straight back to Rothesay. We continued cycling, repeatedly passing mile markers indicating it was 5 miles from Rothesay but with no indication of which way, as if a bulk load were ordered at some point in the past. We then approached a T junction with Rothesay 4 miles to the left, or 10 miles going right. Just then the tour bus caught us and headed off to the right, so following Ciaran's decision (above his now objections) we headed off to the right. We had one more killer climb before we descended into Rothesay, just too late for the ferry (the stiff breeze finally did its job and we missed the boat by less than 5 minutes)
Ice cream in Rothesay, and a fish supper in Largs finished the day. I had forgotten to bring the cycle computer but once we got home we measured the trip as being 23 miles which we cycled in a total of 3 hours 20min, but that doesn't include stopping for the seals and the delay at Ettrick Bay.

Glasgow Challenge

Was up early this morning for the Pedal for Scotland Glasgow Challenge, a 51 mile cycle form Glasgow Green  to Edinburgh. Fortunately, its not "and back again" as they have put on coaches to get us back to Glasgow.
the weather was perfect for cycling - crisp and clear - warm when in the direct sun, but not too cold in the shade. There was a breeze but it was mostly behind us due t the layout of the course (and why its not Edinburgh to Glasgow).
Fiona collected me and then we headed out to collect Grace, arriving in at the end of the start queue at around 0900, where we sat, slowly moving forward through the morning. In an attempt to let the police control traffic, only small groups were being let go at a time, with  a minute or two between them. Had there been no queue jumping then we would have moved faster but what can you do?
We finally made it to the start just before 10.00 and off we went. After only a few minutes the drinks cage on Fiona's bike had worked itself loose and fell off. Of course, by the time we stopped and headed back, the next pack of cyclists were upon us and we had to wait for them to clear before we could recover the water bottle. Rather than attempt to fix it there, we decide to simply let me carry the bottle in my empty cage (due to my new camel-pack). We continued through Glasgow's streets which had police holding traffic for the cyclists at the early points. As the trip progressed, we were expected to follow the rules of the road ourselves, though casual observation showed that not many others had remembered that point.
Once we got into the rhythm of it the trip was quite enjoyable. The route was quite hilly, rolling more than sharp climbs and drops and there was only one spot where we had to get off and walk, but that was more to due with circumstance - the piece was a narrow lane with enough room for a car to comfortably drive down, even against a cyclist climbing. However, there were a few hundred cyclists climbing, some not well, some walking, and three cars, increasingly impatient, coming down. It seems easier and safer to just walk up and leave the cars to battle the maniacs.
After  that, it eased into a standard routine - my mass would bring me down the hills at greater and greater speed, zigging to avoid the ore timid descenders. I would try to roller-coaster as far as possible up the next hill before having to start pedalling where I would suffer and my pace would slow right down. the people I passed on the way down would pass me on the way up and then I would pass them again on the next descent. Fiona was quite annoyed that even with her new bike she couldn't keep up with me on the way down and I pretended not to notice that she never passed me even though I'm sure she could have left me on any of the climbs.

One thing I will have to look at is getting pictures while cycling. I have seen video cameras that will mount on the helmet or bike and take video or stills at VGA resolution but they don't seem that good. I don't mind stopping, but the current deal of getting the camera out of the saddle bag or rear pannier seems to take too much time.
A perfect example of this occurred at the top of a climb. since the Leuchars air show was on yesterday an Avro Vulcan did a flyby over the route. What an incredible sight. There is only one air worthy Vulcan left in existence, and this must have been it. But could I get to the camera in time? The lack of picture might give an indication.
Is there such a thing as an "instamatic" digital camera? something with no autofocus, minimal start up time, just for quick further away than 5 feet pictures?
By the time we were getting to the end we were quite happy to be done. The final few miles through cycle tracks in Edinburgh were teasing, especially with the mile countdown. The entrance into the park with the finish line was fantastic - the crowd applauded everyone so enthusiastically that you felt like you had just won, rather than being the nth thousand and something.
After resting for a bit we headed for the coaches back to Glasgow and after what seemed like an incredibly long drive we were back at Glasgow Green, with the truck full of our bikes alongside. Before too long we had the bikes on the car and we heading home.

We lost Grace before the first rest stop at 10 miles. What actually happened was she got through a red light that we couldn't catch. I don't think she was that disappointed - she had her mind on a faster time than us - she finished in 3.5 hours, about an hour quicker and earlier than we did. Fiona and I managed the course in 4 hours 33 min cycling finishing at 1610, a total of just over 6 hours.

Late Note: The reason this is published on Sunday 12th but hasn't appeared 'til now is that I was waiting for the official photos. The site implied they would be available within 24 hours, but reading the news on the site indicated it took longer. I have now seen the photos but they are so heavily watermarked that I have to wait for the official CD to arrive.

In the meantime, it was confirmed that over 9000 people too part on the day.

Blair Drummond

Saturday saw us back at Blair Drummond this year for our annual Staff day out.
It was much better weather this year, but that made the park so much busier. It also let some of the dry country animals come out, like the meerkats, who were all out running about. The only new animal of note was the brown bear, who is in solitary confinement until he passes quarantine, the he's to be paired with a female and expected to breed. There were also a new giraffe but we couldn't tell because they were all away over in their pen, and a new rhino, but they were out in the field.
We did the usual, walked around the animals, went for a cruise on the pedagos , and got close to the lemurs.

When I got into the office this morning I found out that I had won the raffle for a bottle of Gin! Definitely better then last year.

New Boiler - Day 10

After ten days how is the progress? Absolutely none.

The installer never got his manager (Bill) to ring back, and my calling the installation department only results with Bill being left voice message to phone me.

Last Saturday, the 28th, I decided to open up a hatch in the kitchen floor to see what I could see. Ciaran and I lifted the lino and I started drilling corner holes under where the boiler would sit. Its not exactly the right place to be looking but I cannot move the cooker out and open a hatch there. Finally managed to drill and cut the hatch and opened it to discover that there was a solid layer of polystyrene between the bottom of the floor and the concrete foundation, so the hatch was useless.

I then decided to call Scottish Gas again. The lady said she would leave a message for the manager to phone me on Tuesday, Monday being a bank holiday. I point out that he had already been left numerous messages to phone me but never has. She countered that he had been ringing the house number (despite being told to contact my mobile and all correspondence including my mobile number). I colourfully suggested that she leave a message for Bill and his team to be out at mine for 8 on the Tuesday morning, doing the job that should have been finished a week ago. However, she was not authorised to confirm installation dates so I would have to wait anyway.

On the morning of the Bank Holiday Monday, the sales man, whom I had phoned twice on Friday got back in touch. Despite him not working that day, he was clearing his messages. It seems that Bill, despite having access to my file had only been trying to contact me on the land line. As he now had the mobile number I was assured a call within a few hours.

On Tuesday evening, after no contact for the week, I rang again. This time Kevin took the call and for security had me confirm my mobile number!  He looked at my file and noted that Bill was supposed to phone me but wasn't getting any answer. I pointed out that he was supposed to phone my mobile, but conceded that there were some unanswered calls at the house (the phone logs them). I pointed out that Bill should have left a message. anyway, Kevin assured me that Bill now had the correct number and would call me as soon as he could. I thanked Kevin and asked to speak with Bill's boss. Kevin went away to check who that would be and came back to explain that it was George but what was I planing to say to him. I explained that I simply wanted my installation sorted and wasn't getting anywhere. Kevin understood and went off to get George. Sadly George was not available and would phone me.

On Wednesday lunchtime I did finally get a call on my mobile, though not Bill or George. Its another install guy who wants to come out. "Tomorrow" "Not suitable for me, How about Friday" "Got another job. Monday?" "No but Tuesday would be OK" "Fine" Good, so finally someone is coming out on Tuesday, 2 weeks later than scheduled to hopefully start the job.

In the meantime there still haven't been any calls...