Spring Cleaning The Glory Hole

Hmmm, where can I start?

Well I decided that it was a good idea to tidy under the stairs. It's been a long time going to happen. There was stuff in there that hadn't seen the light of day in thirteen years or more.

This task was undertaken during a week's holiday, it had to be as it wasn't something anyone should do on a mere whim, it required forward planning ... and should have included a skip!

I started at the front - as you do - and worked my way to the back. I put all my crap straight into bin bags ... ooooh, I remember that coat ... ahhh, there's that missing glove, damn I threw it's partner away a month ago. HECK! And five, I repeat FIVE tool boxes and drills not to mention all the loose tools. Who needs five tool boxes under MY stairs when he's already got an outbuilding FULL of similar crap?

Where did all this junk come from? Bird books ... candles ... unwanted photos ... pens ... awful ornaments ... knitting patterns ... cookery books ... old proper light bulbs ... coats ... scarves ... umbrellas ... pills and potions ... car vac ... kids car seat ... three footballs ... box of toys for a two year old who is now nine ... dog toys and leads for a dog who is no more ... six empty Liquorice Allsorts tins ... many more full ones ... someone's Mayfair diaries from the 1990's ... instructions on all electrical items ever bought going back to the war! ... all his handy electrician instructions (17 volumes, hand written by himself - mostly the same instructions but lost and re-written) ... along with the handiest gadgets you'd ever want but never use.

And ... a 'Fabulous Fred' game that I had to go out and buy new batteries for ... just in case it was indeed fabulous - it wasn't, it was horribly noisy with no visible volume control without the use of a hammer. It has now been hidden.

I placed everything of grumpy's in the front room for him to go through when he got back from the bookies. It filled the room. I put all the car oriented stuff in the dining room - again for him to go through - in the hope that some of these items may actually reach the car ... Two months later and they've not got there yet.

To go back to the cookery books, one was his mum's, so really quite old, grumpy in full Flog It mode was quite excited. He thumbed carefully through it, then went back to the inside front cover and read out to me 'Reprinted 27 times ... I wonder which edition this is, do you think it's a first edition?' ... You have to wonder don't you ...

McDonald's Langley Mill - Very Nearly Ready

Update 15.2.13:
 Just been told that McDonald's opened this morning at 6.00 ...

It looks like it won't be long before McDonald's is ready to open. They were busy turfing and planting when we passed today.

Hopefully the nice people who pass here being a damned gobby nuisance through the night - who then go on to see how many tunes they can get out of the metal railway bridge by hitting it (hopefully with their heads) - will frequent the 24 hour McDonald's after being moved on by Asda.

I imagine it could even be the same group of delightful teenagers who just throw their rubbish down after an Asda lunch, as witnessed by myself today.

But I rather imagine they'll come up here to chuck McDonald's crap about as a change from Asda crap :(

Hmmm, yes - Asda is still completely devoid of anyone opening the delivery gates actually being in charge of more than one brain cell. Whoever opens them in the night attempts to open the bolts without them squeaking ... this is irritating beyond measure. Whoever does it during the day couldn't care less how much they squeak.

Knowing that they do squeak would normally prompt someone with two brain cells to ask maintenance to grease the bolts ... alas, as I've said, they're sadly lacking in this department so I'm going to have to go across and tell them yet again to get them greased.

Oooooh, I nearly forgot. Would whoever it is that is trying not to squeak the gates in the night, please stop dropping pallets on top of one another. I know that's what you're doing because I've been there, done that and got the T-shirt!

Done whinging now ...

Heanor Haulage - Still A Langley Mill Nuisance

Not Bad for a company that's supposedly left our village.

I was busy working this morning when I heard that bloody HH crane start up. 'Here we go again' I thought. Mr HH regularly comes to play with his toy, just to make sure it works. Sometimes he actually uses it to move stuff, but nine times out of ten, it just sits there chugging out horrendous fumes. This means that:

1. I have to rush around closing windows.
2. Swear out loud when I remember my sheets are hanging outside.
3. Run outside to fetch the sheets in.
4. Swear again when I realise it's too late, they're already impregnated by filth and fumes.
5. Sit muttering to myself about loss of earnings.
6. Get really bad-tempered and start 'twittering'.
7. Publicly (twitter) threaten what I'm going to do to that pile of junk.
8. Start a headache.
9. Feel sick.
10. Tell all of the above to my grumpy old man when he returns.
11. Try to continue working.
12. Throw bits of work across the room because the fume-induced headache means I can't see what I'm doing (squinty, serious work).

If this gets lit while I'm at home

I cannot vouch for the safety of the crane

The crane was running to itself for probably 40 minutes while Mr Heanor Haulage and his buddy went around collecting more wood for their bonfire to be.

As is my wont when I'm in a foul temper - mostly caused simply by being in this hovel ... and I'm referring to Langley Mill here - I went around the perimeter of Heanor Haulage and took some lovely photos.

Getting back to my moan about this BLOODY crane, my main annoyance is because it's right near our houses, when there's a huge amount of empty space it could be in. Thus no matter whether he actually uses it for lifting - or just fannies about with it as usual - it is always puthering super-filthy fumes and muck for the first ten minutes or so, and should be well away from us.

Plus when Asda and MR HH got permission to foist an Asda upon us, one of the biggest changes for Mr HH, was that ALL THEIR OPERATIONS WOULD HAVE TO BE IN AN ENCLOSED BUILDING WITH THE DOORS SHUT!

So go on then, tell me what he's tw***ing about at ...