The boiler had its annual service last Friday - good job too as it turned out.
The service seemed to make matters worse and as it was not working properly the plumber came out again yesterday and did his best. He did a comprehensive report to the managing agents of the house to be passed to my landlord stating that several parts need replacing, one as a priority.
Now the boiler is not working at all - flashing warning lights have come on - so no hot water and no heating. I have spoken to the plumbers emergency line (thankfully they are in my village) and they will do best to get a part in the morning - they are very supportive and understanding of the fact I cannot leave the house at the moment.
As this is a fully managed property I needed to notify the managing agents and did this via their emergency line. As it is out of hours this is a generic call centre somewhere in the known, or possibly unknown, universe, and they will do nothing else tonight despite me being classed as vulnerabledue to being in a cast and on crutches. It all has to wait until the morning and if my local plumbers cannot get it sorted then I have to get back onto the managing agents and try to get them to find someone else fix the boiler, I presume as a matter of urgency.
So I'm a tough cookie and will go to bed now at 18:30 with my supper and a hot water bottle. Thankfully I have an electric shower, a kettle and the wherewithal to deal with things as the house gets ever colder tonight.
What of an elderly, frail less-abled person though? What then?
Honestly the lack of awareness in society at general right now towards the less-abled and vulnerable is quite shocking. I need to get my head around how I can do something about this for the community at large moving forwards. This experience continues to be eye-opening. It is angering me, frustrating me and deeply saddening me.
Is it the digital age that is creating such a lack of awareness of the impact of words and actions? I am going to really think about this. This has to change. This lack of awareness for our planetary home and for each other is endemic. The two are linked. Society is systemically changing and something needs to be done.
Action is rife for the planet. This is good.
But what of our species? We need to take action to reclaim community, reclaim empathy, reclaim awareness for others and what their circumstances really mean.
Rant over ...
... for the time being.