An update!

I prepared myself for a long wait by Km 1 as the delivery van with the central heating system was due sometime between 12.30 and 1.30 but barely had I switched off the engine than I saw headlights being flashed in my rear view mirror (not something I look in very often, so I did well to spot him!)

The company in Sheffield had packed everything on a pallet and wrapped it well with clingy-filmy-stuff, mainly because the transport company is called Palletways and shifts things on pallets – well they do in the UK. By the time it arrived here and was ready for unloading, it had been reduced to a stack of boxes, bundles of pipes and a load of radiators, all that needed unloaded individually – so we all got stuck in and I’m not kidding, the radiators weigh a ton – I didn’t even try to help with the boiler!

And so began the long process of checking the delivery against the order, but despite being in a mass of different boxes, packets and bundles , everything we had ordered had arrived. All we needed to do now was install it all.

The last few days have whizzed by. Yesterday we went up to Murcia to collect the cooker. We ordered it from IKEA but it was coming direct from the manufacturer to a warehouse near to IKEA. So, I received 3 text messages from the warehouse company telling me that the cooker was in, how to get there and that we had 10 days to go. So, we set off yesterday morning. Maybe foolishly, we didn’t have a map, we have no idea where it was other than it was on the Murcia-Madrid N30, past the Coca-Cola plant!

Well, of course we couldn’t find it, got caught up I traffic delays because of an accident and ended up going back to IKEA to see if they could tell us where it was. As it happens, the lady who we spoke to when hiring the van was working and she knew where we needed to be and could give us directions which (eventually) got us there with about 25 minutes to spare.

Unfortunately, we had to wait while they dealt with a couple who had obviously hired a van for the trip and they looked as if they had bought an entire house from IKEA BUT who were expecting the warehouse man to load it all onto the van – and this was certainly not in his job description, by the tone of the conversation that was going on.

Ours was a simple task, bring it on the forklift and slide it into the back of the car. Eventually, the chap excused himself from the other couple and came and loaded ours into the back of the car. As we left, it appeared that the other couple had realised they either loaded it themselves or they weren’t going to be taking anything home – and it was already past the time for the chap to close up for siesta!

And so, although the last few days have been incredibly hard work, we are getting there. The boiler is in, the cooker is in and we now have hot water coming out of the taps – how good is that? I tell you, you soon realise not to take some things for granted – we have both finally managed to have a hot shower and it was wonderful.

By the end of the week, we may even have the central heating up and running – oh, I do hope so!