Floods, gales and excitement with plumbers. Yesterday, Persimmon finally sent two men round to repair/replace the broken shower tray in the ensuite bathroom. I was downstairs happily cross stitching a new sampler but I don't think they realised how clearly their voices carried as the bathroom is directly above the living room. They were having a very detailed discussion over the pros and cons of having a mistress, the practical issues and how to manage when found out. It had a kind of trainwrecky fascination as apart from anything else I didn't realise men had such intimate discussions, instead thinking they tended to mask their feelings by coded discussions about manly things like sprockets, flanges and drill bits. So if you are married to a plumber or similar tradesman, their long and irregular hours and frequent travels apparently provide an ideal cover for naughty goings on. The one who was unmasked didn't seem to regret the affair per se, more that he then had to put in a considerable amount of spadework with his wife, including several holidays in Tenerife and a more than usually flexible approach to shopping.

On a more serious note, the weather yesterday was bad, and during the night got steadily worse. The wind was so loud it woke me at night and by this morning the gales were atrocious along with the most appallingly heavy rain. Driving to work was utterly miserable as several roads were badly flooded with fountain style drains and idiots who were going too fast through deep bits and then creating bow waves. Arriving at the car park, by the top near the landfill, I attempted to use the big brolly we keep in the back of the car, but that was a complete waste of time as I nearly impersonated Mary Poppins and floated off over the tip. By the time I got down to the office, I was drenched and looked as though I had literally just stepped out of the shower.

Went to County Hall later for our monthly finance meeting which as usual was interesting - I am always so impressed by our Finance team - they are so constructive and positive, although Phil (the boss) also creates a very positive environment. Fortunately, our DSU finance is heading in the right direction, although it is apparent there are problems elsewhere in some of the others that may cause difficulties in resolution.

Our BIM meeting was cancelled this afternoon, so I returned to the depot, with less rain this time and ploughed through a big stack of correspondence for approval/signing off. Just had one about a persistent problem where a business on an industrial estate is cheesed off because prostitutes and clients use the vicinity at night and leave a range of detritus behind, often including throwing their used condoms into the business premises, to await the staff when they arrive the next morning. I strongly suspect the police will be unwilling to move the street prostitutes on in to a residential area so I am not optimistic about an early settlement of this issue. He was also complaining about the smell of the waterworks - fortunately this is not in my remit.

Also had another phone call this afternoon to say that it looks as though two of our recent four funding applications may be successful . This is great news and I am very happy. If so, this will be worth about £100,000 for the two projects (£50K each). I will write more on these once it is confirmed.

Came home the long way so as to avoid the flooded roads and have spent a contented evening in cross stitching, card making, and of course blogging..... Over the weekend we will be collecting our new tiles and on Monday the tradesmen arrive to start work on the main bathroom. It is expected to take around four days of work. I am so excited about this. I will post some photos of the before, during and after.