As Mental Mondays go, today reached new heights. The day began with more than a page of tasks on the ‘to-do’ list from calling HMRC (always a pleasure, not) to Portsmouth City Council (first time call), from ordering priority certificates to drawing up some family trees for client projects. Diverse morning but heavens, it felt like my ears were burning by midday. I had barely been off the telephone!
The unknown part of the day was a call into the office at around quarter past 9. An unexpected call which revolved around the purchaser of a house on an estate getting pre-payment electricity meters put in, prior to actually having completed on the house sale. Until, EDF actually told me that they had changed the meters and then changed the locks on the house, because the bill hadn’t been paid!!! WOT?!
Other battles ensued with another probate agent trying to pay an estate out in what can best be described as an unethical manner (no surprises there), Lloyds Bank who couldn’t be bothered to return my call from Thursday on Friday as promised, and then lied about calling me back (I don’t mind if you’ve been too busy but just be honest!!!) …. and finally a 25 minute journey which took 50 minutes.
Lecture five this evening of the eight lecture marathon and this one was at Potterne WI. Normally, Potterne is a piece of cake to get to and I know the route like the back of my hand. Not so simple today as the road was closed if you wished to go through the middle of Devizes. Not to be put off, I headed down some country lanes to detour on my own select Tour de la Back Roads of Wiltshire, only to be joined by half the population of the county and their various friends as we became gridlocked in Coate. Damnation – I had run out of known options. Gertrude was constantly yelling at me to “TURN AROUND WHERE POSSIBLE” but without succeeding in changing my ways. We carried on until she picked up a sensible route and a better road which she could quieten down on. Eventually this time arrived after I had spent a good ten minutes wondering where the hell I was!?!
Small and beautifully formed WI for a very positive lecture and a very engaged audience. Lots of discussion, lots of questions and lots of interest in the business. And now to bed…. late…. before doing it all over again tomorrow.
