Tuesday 14 February 2023
I have jetlag still. That I stayed in bed until 06:30 was impressive as I had been awake, not even drowsy, for almost an hour. Chris and I caught a train from Euston to Carlisle, where we joined a train from Manchester Airport to Glasgow, which Carla was already on. Due to the number of bags and cases we had (two cases, four bags), we met on the platform at Lockerbie rather than on the train. It was great to see Carla and that between the three of us we’d been on six trains and did actually manage to meet as planned despite delays and cancellations along the way (the latter being a Lewisham issue). We stopped off at Lockerbie Tesco for dinner ingredients, then Samye Ling for some Tibetan spiritual healing (ie to look around the Tibetan temple complex) and arrived at the house shortly before five.
I realised, as I was feeling increasingly happy to be back in Scottish Borders, that I hadn’t been there for almost three weeks, the longest time I’d spent away from the house since we moved. As soon as we unloaded the car, Carla and I set off on my patrol route. The sun had just set but it was still light enough. I felt really happy to be outdoors in the cool, clean air with trees, hills and greenery all around, along with the constant sound of running water. It was also great to see Carla’s enthusiasm for the surroundings of our house. We stood looking in various directions and dawdled back, returning to the house shortly before six. Chris opened the door to us and announced that the boiler was dead again. No heating. He left the house five days ago with the boiler working and the timer set for heat to come on twice a day. Going by how bitterly cold the house felt, the boiler must have been off more than a day or two, though he’d only been away for four days. So, great, welcome to our lovely house, Carla, here’s a selection of rugs, a hot water bottle (which I’d bought in Delhi, anticipating a slightly cold house, having not been able to buy a hot water bottle with a cover that wasn’t a unicorn – truly – on my previous shopping trips) and all the hot food and drinks you can manage. Chris and I are so over all these heating issues. Unsurprisingly.
We tried resetting it, nothing. I went into the kitchen to make a start on dinner (rookie error, didn’t choose something that required the oven to be on). I came back into the living room and found Carla and Chris wrapped in blankets. This seems to be reflective of winter 2022-23, and I know not just in our house.
I had too much unpacking to do while Carla was staying, and frankly I wasn’t in the mood. Chris had brought up bags of my stuff when he drove back here while I was away; they need putting away and are very random. I also had lots of shopping from India, which is something I’m looking forward to unpacking and putting around the house.
My feeling of disappointment at the news of the dead boiler was in part because I realised how proud I feel of the house and that it means a lot to me to be showing a friend around. It was disappointing to realise it will be cold for the duration of her stay and there will be cases and unpacking lying around the whole time.
Fortunately, with her layers of clothing, three duvets and a hot water bottle, she said she was warm, at times hot, in the night and slept fine. I slept very deeply but was awake quite a long time, seemingly because my face was so cold. That said, I was wearing a hat and we had two duvets and a quilted bedspread. I felt mildly reassured that Carla told us their old house in Hiroshima, Japan, was a similar temperature, though in their case more to do with the walls being very thin than – well, I suppose our house is cold because it’s cold outside and it’s an old stone house, albeit with new layers of insulation. I dread to think how much colder it would be without the additional insulation the previous owners put in.
Today, I envisage the three of us being out pretty much all day and appreciating the heat in the car and the many layers of outdoor clothing we have available to us.