Holding On and Letting Go 🎈

Fortune_Smiles

Pottering

Mr F and I have been pottering today which is one of our favourite ways to pass the time 😊  He has been de-nailing the last of the wood from the old fence - it just needs sawing up now.  I have been doing chores whilst I have the time as Show stuff starts to take over from tomorrow.

I did the grocery shop and came in a little under budget 👍 but there's nothing more to report on the money front.

We had a salad and goat's cheese wrap for lunch and supper was Mushroom & Gnocchi Bake.

So an uneventful day... which is fine with me 😁

Fortune x

FlacosFloozie

Well done Mr F!

Fortune_Smiles

A Taste of Things to Come

Mr F and I played truant this afternoon to catch the last showing of the new Indiana Jones film at our little town cinema.  It felt very strange being out and about on a Wednesday afternoon but we thoroughly enjoyed it and treated ourselves to a cup of coffee and a small bar of chocolate each whilst there.

It's been a very busy few days mainly due to Show stuff.  The weather stayed dry for setting up but was torrential on the day of the Show.  Mr F and I went along in our weatherproofs and wellies and they were towing cars into the car park with tractors when the Show Ground opened 😲  We felt very sorry for the traders and hope our few purchases helped some.  Our WI displays came 2nd (only 1/2 point away from 1st) and 3rd plus we won a trophy for most marks for exhibit items (that's without taking staging and interpretation into account) and one of our items won best craft item in show.  So a great result 🏆

We had some friends visit unexpectedly which was lovely but we did have to juggle things a bit around the Show and indulged in a fish and chip supper and Sunday lunch out to accommodate timings and my energy levels 😆

Then there was a WI garden party to attend on Monday.  It's been a social whirl 🦋

All has been within budget though as I'm still allocating fun money for the moment.

Still no money from my second small pension provider and no response from an email I sent chasing them up on Monday.  But Mr F has received quite a few emails expressing an interest in his services 😁  Not counting my chickens until they are safely in the bank but it's a good sign.... of more mid-week outings I hope 😂

Happy Hump Day

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Outage Outrage

It has been a very fraught day.  Out network provider arrived to replace a utility pole in our orchard.  They don't have a way leave from us or easement for the equipment they have on our property.  We intentionally didn't sign one as those agreements give them a legal right to enter your property at will and maintain, repair, replace and instal equipment as they see fit.  If they don't have a way leave they have to get consent from the land owner or a warrant each time they want to do any of the above.

When a representative from the utility company first came out to tell us about this plan I advised him that there was no way leave or easement in place and asked for a written agreement to be put together for the work.  He advised me they didn't need an agreement.  I said I wouldn't be giving consent for the work without one.  When a second representative called round advising of a planned power outage I told him the work wasn't going ahead as an agreement wasn't in place.  The first representative quickly got in touch, came out to meet me and we put together an agreement which I signed.

The agreement was for the pole, transformer and stay line to be replaced on a like for like basis - that is the same equipment in the same place.

So today I found myself with a pole not in the same place (not a problem as it was only half a metre further into the orchard and wouldn't cause any issue for us), twice as thick as the existing pole with cross arms twice as wide (not a problem, we could live with that) and one and a half metres taller than the original 😲  This was a problem as that one and a half metres made a huge difference.  The pole loomed over the orchard and the house, was oppressive and dominated the view.  I went out to talk to the eight burly workmen about my concerns.

The Foreman suggested they dig the pole deeper and thus lower the height.  I thought this an excellent solution and agreed.  However, they had to check it first with the Manager.  Foreman called the Manager and told him "the old woman's come out and she's complaining".  After hanging up he said the Manager would be here sometime later in the day but they would have to continue the work as they had to finish by 4.30 pm.  I said I needed to speak to the Manager before any more work was completed.  Apparently that wasn't possible so I withdrew my permission for the work to continue.  The manager arrived on site 5 minutes later.

The Manager said there was nothing they could do, the regulations required this specification of equipment, the original equipment wasn't being made any more, they had to continue work or would be in trouble with Ofgen, other people were being inconvenienced by me, people needed bigger and better to run their electric cars now, etc, etc, etc.  He said they were contractors working on behalf of the utility company and didn't have the power to change things.  I asked to speak to someone at the utility company who did have the power.  He made a call to the Project Manager.  But apparently the Project Manager didn't feel the need to speak with me.  I withdrew my consent for them to enter the property.  The Project Manager arrived on site 10 minutes later.

I told the Project Manager that I felt I'd been misled, tricked into accepting equipment I didn't want on my property and now held to ransom as neither I, nor my neighbours, could have my power restored until this was resolved.  He said, in these situations they were able to restore power to my neighbours but leave ours off until the issue was resolved.  I took a very deep breath and suggested that perhaps they'd better do that then.  He looked at me in silence for a long few seoonds and then suggested they dig the pole in deeper 🙄

The pole is up and power is now restored although my own energy has been exhausted.  My diary readers will know that I'm like a dog with a bone whenever I feel unfairness or injustice is at play but this was a biggie.  Everyone needs a supply of power including us and I would never stand in the way of maintenance or repairs being made where necessary.  But we had an agreement, a legal one, where the needs of the community and the needs of the property owner were both taken into consideration and respected.  I suspect the energy companies get away with a lot by acting in this way.  The law about access is complex and not widely known plus who wants to be responsible for holding up reconnection.  But we have to live here and we don't want to do so in the shadow of an overbearing utility pole so I stood my ground.

They also broke a gate post whilst they were here which was pretty rotten and bound to come down some time but they repaired it with part of the old utility pole which will probably keep the gate up for a decade or so longer.  They left the rest of the old pole as we said we could use it and promised to drop a second off next time they were passing in case we needed any other gate posts so silver linings.

Once the drama was over the Project Manager asked if there was anything else they could do to put things right - buy some shrubs or a tree to help hide the new pole for instance.  I politely declined as this wasn't about getting compensation.  He also said that perhaps they should have brought a shorter pole... because they do have them... apparently 🙄

What a saga that all is.  I'm afraid I've used this diary to dump my day.  But I do feel this is MSE related - we have rights and it makes me angry when retailers and suppliers think it's ok to trample over or deny them.

Don't take it lying down people 💪

Fortune x

savingholmes

Well done FS. You are a shining example to us all of the benefits of standing your ground.

Sorry it was such a frustrating day though.

The social whirlwind sounds like you most enjoyed it and got good results overall at the show.

themadvix

Well done Fortune. You are always so good at keeping your cool and making sure justice is upheld - I just never keep my cool and it end up stewing inside while letting people get away with it. Can you give lessons? (Actually, thinking about this, they could be quite fun for you, as you'd get to press all our buttons and make us mad while training us on how not to let them get to us! )

Swayingseaweed

What a day you had. Glad you stood your ground against them. 
Seaweed x 

SandyShores

Gosh Fortune, I feel exhausted just reading about that blooming saga.  Honestly, makes my blood boil.  Well done for staying calm and showing them your mettle.  It feels to me that a lot of interactions these days are like this, where you have to have your wits about you plus a few tricks up your sleeve to 'do battle' - and these are supposedly reputable, reliable companies.  I think you could start up a business as a professional advocate - I'd definitely hire you.  Hope you have recovered, I too would be exhausted, but pleased (but saying 'why does it have to be like this these days?).

beanielou

“The old lady”. 

How absolutely unacceptable.  

Fortune_Smiles

savingholmes said:

Well done FS. You are a shining example to us all of the benefits of standing your ground.

Sorry it was such a frustrating day though.

The social whirlwind sounds like you most enjoyed it and got good results overall at the show.

Thank you SH.  I made myself very unpopular - but, as an adult, I've never really needed to be liked.  When I was a manager I felt it was more important to be respected than liked and that mind set helps me a lot in these situations.  I'm not saying my heart wasn't involved in the situation.  It wasn't the workmen's fault and they had to spend more time out in their uncomfortable high-viz in the hot sun.  However, I just knew I couldn't live with this horrid pole and would resent it every day.  We are very lucky to live in beautiful countryside and, although we don't own an estate 😆, I do feel we are custodians of this tiny piece of England and should do everything we can to preserve it.

Fortune x