In hot water!

It's a well worn concept, but you don't realise how much you take things for granted until they disappear! Our combi boiler has been on the blink for some time now. It seems to decide in a completely arbitrary way whether or not it will work.

I started with an annoying but consistent fault. We could only get hot water when the heating wasn't on. Then it changed, whilst remaining predictable; we could get hot water, but only when the heating was on. This was the way it stayed for a while.

Our landlord pointed us in the direction of the plumber, who made numerous visits and changed numerous parts. Alas, the fault remained, though still predictable.

Last week, the predictability of our ailing boiler disappeared. Whether the heating is on or off, there is no way of telling in advance whether the water from the hot tap will be hot or cold. Added to this is a new problem with the central heating. this now suffers from the same fault as the hot water - completely unpredictable!

Morning showers are not guaranteed, relaxing baths are not often possible and the gas fire is seeing extraordinary levels of service. On the plus side, we have learnt the finer points of the 1 minute shower and the cold shower - we've probably reduced our water consumption drastically!

On a positive note, the plumber came this morning to make some preliminary checks before the installation of our new boiler. This is great news, but it made me realise the extent to which we become accustomed to our creature comforts.