Well it’s the last day of the “naughties” as this decade has come to be known, and I had planned to write something inspiring to wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010, but you know what they say about plans…

…sometimes they go wrong!

Last night I had my usual evening bath and went downstairs to discover the sound of dripping and a very wet kitchen floor.

Outside, the rain was lashing at the window and the water appeared to be coming in from the top of that, but it wasn’t.  Instead, it was coming through the ceiling from behind the coving, dripping onto the work surfaces and falling onto the floor.  It was also dripping through the centre of the room.

I thought I possibly had a burst pipe as we are experiencing unusually cold weather for UK at the moment, but couldn’t work out how, or why the water was appearing as it was.

Jodi, my autistic son, was very helpful.  He told me it was “wet”, put a towel on the floor and carried on watching one of the new DVD’s he’d had for Christmas!

Anyway, I tried to phone my neighbour who happens to be a plumber, but none of my phones would work, so I quickly removed any electrical items from the work top, dashed over to his house in the pouring rain, dragged the poor man away from his guests, and asked him to find the leak.

Alan was great, but even he was confused at first.  It wasn’t anything obvious, but even without him actually doing anything the water appeared to slow down and eventually stop,  apart from the slow dripping from the center of the room.

So what was it?

Yes, I expect you’ve guessed.  My bath water had decided to wash my kitchen floor instead of going down the waste pipe.

Why?

Well apparently the plastic push on pipes so commonly used by plumbers these  days (because they don’t need to be soldered or tightened) have a tendency to work themselves loose over time.

It seems the mixture of the cold and hot water makes them expand and contract, and the ones underneath my bath (and hidden by the bath panel) had done precisely that.

The question is – when?

Looking underneath the bath it seems last night may not have been the first time the water hadn’t been going down  the drain, which means it had been soaked up by the upstairs flooring and the ceiling below.

That’s a bit of a worry.

Anyway, thanks to a bit of plastic pipe, my evening was ruined and today will be spent trying to get back my phone connection, contacting the insurance company and establishing just what damage has actually been done.

Whether I have to have a new floor or ceiling only time will tell.  Water can do a lot of damage.  It’s an inconvenience but looking on the bright side, it’s nothing compared to the horrors experienced by thousands of other people whose homes have been completely destroyed by flood water.

At least my water was clean. 

Thankfully, although I have no  telephone connection, my internet is working, and as if in answer to my prayers, I’ve just received this New Year Message, which I am going to pass on for two reasons.

Firstly, I think it’s great, and secondly, I just  don’t have time to write anything original, so thanks very much Adelene!

Wishes for  2010

May peace break into your home and may thieves come to steal your debts.
May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills.
May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips.
May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy.
May the problems you had, forget your home address.

In simple words …

May 2010 be the best year of YOUR life!

Take care (and watch out for plastic bath fittings!)
Jean Shaw

http://www.JeansMenopausalMoment.com