Gas, gas, gas!

11/01/2009 04:59:00 pm BenefitScroungingScum 8 Comments

It seems to have been one of those days. Well, one of those weekends actually. It's all a bit of a blur. The Voltarol is definitely a contributing factor, but then so is the pain. Along with the most traditional of reasons to become slightly confused and distracted. No, not dope, that's only traditional for me, but admittedly that's a factor too. You'd worry if it weren't.

So, um, yeah. I'm a bit puddled today. Which might be why it took me a while to notice that although the heating was on, the radiators were getting colder. Towering intellect that I am. I decided it had to be the washing machine stealing the heat from the boiler. Coincidences lead to that kind of non scientific stupid thought process.

Even I managed to figure out the pilot light had blown out on the boiler. I suspect my methods of deduction wouldn't be approved of by Transco. Not that I know what their methods are. I'm currently wondering if I need to turn off the actual gas supply and if so how. I've turned off the timer clock for the boiler so it won't turn on anymore. I don't think. My grasp of the physical world and laws of science being tenuous at best. I did at least manage to ask a neighbour to come and attempt to light the pilot light. He scratched his head a bit, mumbled about being a builder and decided best left.

Fortunately I've learnt to keep a stash of one pound coins in for the electric meter. Without gas central heating I'll have to rely on the fan heaters my landlord sent round, and they eat electricity faster than anything else.

It's my Pathways To Work interview at the job centre tomorrow. Between the inflammed joints, marshmallow tablets and lack of heating it could prove an interesting experience. The irony is I'm not worried about it because I'm so borked they can't possibly find me fit for work! Now, who's willing to bet the access situation is still the same as back in 2007?

8 comments:

Joanna Cake said...

Within two days of moving in, I realised that my hot water lukewarm... and then cold for my shower. I managed to work out that the pilot light had gone out and tried to relight it, only to discover that the previous owners had actually turned the whole thing off because if you switched it on, it shorted out at the main fuse box. Being a tenant is sometimes an advantage because I just made a phone call and a lovely plumber turned up later that day, ascertained there was a leak and sorted the problem. I have since switched off the boiler and taught myself how to relight it. Seems to me that's a piece of knowledge that you will stand you in good stead as a woman alone :)

Mind you, it required lots of kneeling and holding in of buttons whilst twisting other knobs. For someone who doesnt have full control of their fingers, it would not have been such a simple matter x

Fire Byrd said...

voltarol, is the devils spawn.... makes me so totally off my head wouldn't ever need anything else. but can't stand the effect.
Hope you get the boiler sorted before the weather gets too cold.
xx

alhi said...

Who's the lucky man?

I never had any such luck with Voltarol...

Think my currently muzzy head and slight feeling of dizziness may be the onset of flu, so am off to bed after X Factor results show (alone). I imagine said feeling is not helped by fact I left my medication here when I went home to visit the parents.

Mary said...

Next to the gas meter should be a lever that turns 90 degrees, the current position is "on" and the other position is "off".

If you can't find any such thing, please call this number: 0800 111 999

It's a helpline run by National Grid for people who have any gas problem. They will help you figure out if it's an emergency and what you should do about it/who can come and help you. It's free from a landline phone.

Casdok said...

Good luck with the interview!!

Sad Gimp said...

Voltarol's horrid, but the alternatives for me are either too weak or f*ck my kidneys over in a most excruciating manner!

So voltarol+tramadol+codeine+tesco cold relief = a very monged me who'd constructed a hypothesis about the massive scary spiders we get. Sent by Jobcentre Plus, yep, all true! On days like this I'm so glad I'm not working, the poor people of the world would not like such drug-induced ramblings.

cogidubnus said...

So what happened at the "Pathways to Work" interview? Come on Bendy, we're on tenterhooks!

southpaw said...

A coin-operated electricity meter!!? My goodness, I didn't think those things still even existed! ;-)

Imagine not having to trapse all the way to the nearest paypoint outlet to credit a electric smartcard in order to keep the electricity going whilst having personal mobility issues to contend with! What a novel concept! lol.

I managed to somehow get a housing association property in 2008 that still had a proper credit (pay by bill) meter from the good times. But I cannot have a payment plan that I can pay into as all the local shops no longer do paypoint and I am still waiting for the DLA so I can afford to have a car on the road. I can't do direct debit so I have to do with usage-based Quarterly billing.

I usually manage to scrimp together the funds from paltry Incapacity Benefit income by the final demand though. Is it just me or are the Govt seriously deluded to think someone can "live" off £109 a week? But I'm probably preaching to the converted on this blog.

Perhaps I should tell the Magistrates at my non-council tax payment hearing in December: Whether they would prefer me to pay council tax with the utility money and die from hypothermia when I am cut off, take from rent payments and get evicted onto the street, take from food budget and starve from malnutrition or from medicine costs and therefore end up in a coma from an Adrenal/Addisonian crisis.

Frankly the risk of prison pales in comparison to all this. Then I wouldn't have to worry about the bills at all! ;-)