Tuesday, February 22, 2011

When dreams fade a little

Or , as has been said "the kids need new shoes".

The MG fund has hit rock bottom. Just when I was beginning to dream of summer skies and long uninterrupted weekends working on YooPoo ( The MG, her new name, involving the letter suffix of her registration plate).
Last post I commented that the cash fund was growing quite nicely.
Well now its down to nothing, nought, zero, null, nuffin, zilch.....even bugger all.
Why, well let me explain. You knew I would.
Just before Christmas, Christmas eve actually, wifey asked me to put washing( Towels) onto radiator in conservatory.
Being a good ole Lostsock, and in a good mood I obliged. Only to see a strange bubble in said radiator with a little brown streak running down below. Pushing said "bubble" lead to a very thin stream of water jetting out horizontally into room. Despite my best efforts with the epoxy glue and latterly Mig welder I could not stem the flow. So, after a quick look see from the plumber to empty the rad and cut it out of the circuit a Christmas was spent with one room freezing cold. A Rad would not be available till the first week in Jan , and so it was but with me £ 100 quid poorer. Trouble was that Jan is a very expensive time for us and most people, and Feb sees most of the accumulated Xmas debts paid off.
And it came to pass I felt rather smug at using my hard earned cash to buy the rad and pay the plumber without too much extra debt incurred and some light at the end of the festive financial burden.
As Feb emerged from the torpor of a belt tightening Jan and the light at the end of the tunnel distinctly visible I did the same kindly thing again, yes hung the washing on the radiator, this time in the front room.
Horror of horrors. A huge brown stain down the wall behind the rad and a soaking wet carpet with rusty wet water. It was a big radiator too ( 72" x 37") A quick call to the plumber, a date was set and a price obtained.
£170 fookin quid. And guess what, guess how much I had in my MG pot left ?

No......................... £160 quid, exactly !!   That's OK wifey said I'll lend you the rest, its the least I can do.
I quickly and politely reminded her that its "our" house, to which, made her look ready to rev up for a real argument, so I desisted and went back to feeling smug but a little wazzed off.

Just to make matters even worse, the great windy weekend saw my cover ripped to shreds and the clothes dryer ( The aluminium pole with washing line round ) went and snapped clean into two. A replacement is only £35. Since wifey is in charge of where the washed clothes are dried I kindly offered that she might buy this item. I wish it had been the other way round ( she pays for radiators,I buy rotary dryer) but ,Hey Ho.......it all comes out of the same bank account and does nothing to hide my guilt at having (or not, as of now) actual money to fritter away on a "hobby".
As the title says the kids forever need new shoes. I don't know why ? Son is 17 and spends all day in bed, rises at (usually after) lunch and wears JimJams till bedtime. The only expense he generates is food (Lots and lots, normally beans,cheese on toast, scrambled egg, pies and sausage rolls- I keep telling him I'll not perform the colonoscopy in 10 years time) and an electricity bill that could run a small city from leaving every light on possible and making his x-box so hot you could fry eggs on it. Daughter has a penchant for clothes she never wears, creams and emollients to decorate the bathroom, 45,0000 different hair products and again has the same effect as son for the electricity supply ( Namely leaving lights on) Good ole wifey spends, like me, bugger all but has more of a conscience.
At least she gets to spend the £80 or so quid a week on shopping, which was once a joy now denied me as she does it online.
At least I'll be qualified this summer and hopefully in a job within our good old NHS system.
Perhaps then I/we will then have money ? Methinks a holiday is well due first though, if only. A lottery win of modest proportions will do fine. Not much to ask is it ?

So, in a nutshell I'm well and truly skint. I've already told the landlady ( a couple of months ago) at the pub where I work Saturday evenings I'm quitting come March. So, I am well and truly stuffed, skint, wazzed off (MG wise) and not a little frustrated.
On top of which my health ain't been so good for the last 6 weeks and I'm on my 3rd set of antibiotics.
It could be worse though..........I could have bought a Triumph !!

More soon hopefully, if I've not slit my throat before.