up on the roof.

The wood burner has been fitted. It is done. Our new mulitfuel burner is in place for Christmas. This is our Christmas present this year really. The piles of stuff I have "hidden" down in the cellar are besides the point in comparison to having this installed.
Nearly two years ago was the chimney fire which put the old one out of action. To get the money together to get this new one bought and fitted was a Pavola of a fiasco combined with an "Eton mess" for good measure as I am using trifle analogies! What a flamin' pavola is an understatement, then to round off the story a Jonny Rotten double (from the sex pistols) arrived to fit it along with bad manners, swearing breaking wind and burping at intervals between the blasphemy.
This cost me a very expensive amount of money. Very hard won money too. Lee complained about the expence, but did nothing to find a cheaper deal, so I told him to stop winging. Then the fitters arrived.....And it turned out that I was paying a very lot of money to listen to very bad language and loud bodily functions for four hours with the door open in the freezing cold.
I said nothing and sat in the kitchen in my coat.

Monza dog and Lee evacuated to the garage. I rightly thought that Monza would not take to the fitters messing about in his space. He barked continuously as they came in and out and climbed up on the roof but that was as near as he was allowed. Lee trotted in and out to ask questions...and got largely ignored and I let them get on with it.

The wood burner was delivered a few weeks back. I managed to get it as far as the kitchen. It is really really heavy......

and there it stayed until the fitters arrived to day. I could not even get it out the box!

I bought a chimney liner as well, which has been stashed in the fireplace. We took out the old woodburner ready for the new one. That was really heavy too and I only got that as far as the kitchen too. It is going out in the workshop next year after a refit.

 To fit the chimney liner Mr Rotton had to get up on the roof and balance on the chimney stack. It was around about now that I realised why it all costs so damn much. There is a total art to it all......

 The language and blasphemy was extra. Unnecessary but I just put up with it as I needed the job done. I expect I will get over the expense and the experience given time.

 Looks messy? well yes as the chimney liner was fed down it dislodged loads of debris and this all ended on the floor. This was cleaned up with a supper suck hoover, so it was not too bad in the end.

 So basically one guy got on the roof and the other was below in the house pulling whilst the fella on the roof yelled and swore like a demon.....some of it came down the chimney and a lot turned the air blue outside and the neighbours were all treated to it all as well.

 It turned out that the fella who came and measured up made a mistake and the chimney liner was not long enough. However experience and brute force and a long fitting from the burner itself compensated nicely and it is all safely in place now.

 I would not even have gone two steps up that ladder. This guy managed a cigarette in one hand and climb up on the roof with the other and kept his cigarette going through the whole process......

 The other chap...who did not smoke...needed both hands to get this liner up on the roof and climb the ladder......

 He delivered the liner and then retreated to the bottom of the chimney in the house...where he pulled.....

 The swearing went up to a whole different level of profanity when the new wood burner had to be unpacked and moved into the living room. It needed its feet attaching with a screw driver.......

 nearly there we were now.

It is all done now.
Wednesday morning now and I am just about to call up the company who installed this. The fitters could not refit the damper plate as it was too damaged. So I now have to pay extra for more fitters to come back and fit a new one at yet more expense.

This damper plate caused yet more swearing...in fact tripled the language to the point where there was no other.
I am left with no choice but to pay and get the job finished and signed off correctly. To make the day perfect and add to my imminence irritation father is coming up " to deliver Christmas" . I have bought and wrapped his presents but have no idea what to get his wife. We are just about to get up to walk Monza then rush over to the supermarket to buy her a plant.
I am tired and irritated anyway. It is time of year when asked to do long shifts at work. I spent all of Monday by the doors at work. As we are so busy...the doors are open all the time. Freezing cold I was and wearing my gloves  too.....then I get home and the washing up from Sunday dinner has not been done. I usually get up and do it myself.....or come home at lunchtime and do it. This week there was not time as breaks are also shorter.......

It is done. And Christmas is upon us now. I can walk away from it all after Father has been and enjoy all the effort put in to presents and food I have gathered in to the freezer for the occasion.