keep me hanging on the telephone

Meeting with Telecom - he was 25 minutes (3 months and 25 minutes) late. The good news it costs us nothing to be connected. The bad news, because there is a terribly tiny hole to be made in the pavement it looks like we'll have to wait until January 2008.

PScriptum

This is the X files? I push the blogger publish button and the phone rings - Telecom - I have a site meeting with a technician tomorrow.
Thank you Gaudi

Hanging on the telephone

The ray of hope for The Client has been dashed by The Builder going off on holiday again. But, on the bright side The Architect has found a little wheel to go on the end of the gates. For a little wheel it's pretty tough. It can take easily up to 200Kg - which would make it a strong contender if you were ever considering making a pair (make that two) of roller skates for an elephant.

Whilst we're on the subject of elephants on roller skates I thought I'd just mention the winners in the utility company stakes - the ongoing race/struggle to connect The Maison Camy to the outside world by means of pipes tubes and câbles.

Outright winners for sheer efficiency, punctuality, simplicity, customer service and politeness are the Water Board - a round of applause for the Water Board (if you're wondering, it begins with a V and sounds a bit like the latin word for something you might catch in a changing room). Mind you, at at around 800 euros for the connection you expect at least a smidgen of service.

Second in line, but unfortunately no prize yet as they haven't crossed the finishing line, the Gas Company - come on guys you can do it! just a meter away from a bronze (a gas meter that is). Despite a little fuzziness in their customer relations due to a severe attack of privatisation they are getting things done. Holes have been dug.

Third place is waiting for the Telecom people. Waiting being the operative word. Telecom has been on the go for some three months now and still no sign of an appointment with a real human. I have in the meantime developed a habit. I am now a registered Call Centre Junky. If I don't get my fix of at least an hour listening to pre recorded messages or badly rehearsed how to deal with angry caller scenarios I'm screwed for the rest of the day. Today I got through to a technician. Someone who knew his twisted copper pair from his coaxial. It was like a revelation. Like talking to God. He told me everything was going to be alright. He promised me at least an 8Mb connection, who knows maybe 20?. He promised me someone would call back in 5 days. Funny, I seem to remember someone telling me that 3 months ago.............hey, there goes an elephant on roller skates !

Home straight

Thank you MOA TOA and mdw for waking The Architect from his blog hibernation.


It's now over a month since the last entry. This is due to a severe lack of builder. Things have been heating up this last week - the electrical wiring is practically finished, the gas board have been digging in the road and finally, at long last the steel stair, railings and gates have arrived from deepest darkest Auvergne.
The stair is simple and elegant and will be finished with wooden treads at a later date. The railings have been put together with precision, needing only 16mm of adjustment at one extremity to allow for the neighbours stone column.


The gates however are still a problem. The weight of a single panel was too much for the bolts fixing the intermediate column to the concrete threshold. On swinging the gate fully open the concrete foundation started to crack. The solution consists of adding a roller to the end of each of the gates to take the weight off of the column. This will require a level quarter circle rolling track set into the paving of the front courtyard.


The light grey finish is the protective metallic primer applied in the factory. The fence now needs painting. This will be a job for The Client.

The list of works still left to do is long but there is a ray of hope that The Client will soon be in her house
.