A Work in Progress

They came at 8.45 this morning. The big silver-grey van parked outside my front garden and "Cyril Smith" parked his shiney black people-carrier behind it. He came up the drive first, with a booming, "Good morning." He was followed by his son (the plumber) and daughter-in-law (plumber's mate and tiler).

David, the son, is well-made and has his father's eyes. I had expected his wife, Laura, to be a large, perhaps a bit butch, woman but I was surprised to be greeted by a tall slim lady, with long dark hair, wearing very smart overalls and very nicely spoken.

There was no hanging about. First of all, huge dust sheets were laid in my hall, up the stairs and on the landing then, while "Cyril" and I sorted the paperwork, David and Laura got cracking in the bathroom, after turning off the water. "Cyril" then departed. They had been up there just over an hour, with much banging and creaking, when the supplier brought the bathroom suite, which had to go in the garage (a shoe-horn job if ever there was one - my garage is f.t.b).

At 11.30 the couple came downstairs. "Cyril" had told me they would be going early today as they would be going for the tiles, plaster-board, floor-tiles etc. but I was surprised when they said they had finished for the day. They turned on the water, removed the sheets and brushed the carpets then left until 9 tomorrow.

I went up to have a look - Wow! Bath gone, sink gone, tiles gone (down to bare brick). We still have a loo, thank goodness, but apart from the inevitable dust in the air we don't have any mess at all and all the old suite went off in their van. How they did all that in less than 3 hours is a mystery to me - but then, they do nothing else but bathrooms. None the less, I am impressed.