Weekly Ramblings from Marty the Builder

30 November 1999

You will have all worked out by now that I am not really the sentimental type and bleeding hearts are for other people – not me. But I have to admit that all the news reports about the earthquake in Haiti have really affected me.

I know they are purposely designed to affect me and make me reach into my pocket, but I genuinely feel that we are so privileged in this country and we just don't realise it. A million people without homes, on one small island with no infrastructure, no electricity, no proper government or police and children running around with no parents. It is beyond the comprehension of most of us.

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30 November 1999

Well it has been more of the same – hasn't it? Snow, snow and more snow. There does come a point where it stops being a novelty and just becomes a pain in the rear. The problem, from my point of view, is that people just don't do enough to help themselves.

Take this as an example. Last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday everything in my village ground to a halt. No milk or bread in the local shops, cars abandoned by the roadside for days on end and poor kids (or is it the parents) stuck at home because of the schools and nurseries being shut. Well, a bunch of us parents decided enough was enough and the call went out (on Facebook would you believe?) to all parents in the area to get their shovels and meet at the local school and nursery to help clear the paths. So within one hour we managed to get them open. Talk about the power of the people. Of course it goes without saying that the snow today has put paid to that.

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30 November 1999

Things are back to normal in the Marty household this week. The Christmas rubbish is over, the weather has returned to the usual grey and dull and I am back doing a job I love most days and hate just some of the time.

This week was more interesting than fun though, I have to admit. I finished off the bathroom for the old couple. What lovely people they were. I know that it is a cliché to say that old people are kind, but they really were. They were just the sort of people I would be proud to have as grandparents for our kids. They just had something special. And a marriage which lasts more than 50 years is certainly something to be proud of.

My new job – well that is quite a different story. The household is in the throws of a divorce. If I had known this when I quoted I might have thought twice. I did sense a bit of frostiness in the air between them, but kind of figured it was just their way. But turns out they are getting the house ship shape before selling up and moving in to their own places.

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30 November 1999

Aaaargh! I don't know how I do it – I really don't! This week has been like an episode of Eastenders. I keep expecting the doof doofs and the spinning map of London. Needless to say I have been on the receiving end of some horrendous arguments and strange conversations in the divorcing household this week. Thank goodness I should be finished by the end of the week.

I arrived last Friday at just after 8am to the sound of breaking glass. I'm serious... I just sort of hovered at the door wondering if it was a good idea to go in. I was thinking “maybe someone is hurt”, but at the same time I was thinking “just walk away and leave them to it”. In the end I decided it was best to try and break things up, as I seemed to be the only person in that house seeing sense.

What a scene of destruction! The contents of the kitchen cupboards seemed to be all over the floor and three doors (the news ones which she didn't want) had holes kicked right through. I knew they were cheap, but it must have taken some welly to get her size 7's through them! All I could think of was the time I spent chiselling the holes for the hinges and how many times the bottoms needed planing.

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30 November 1999

Well I am officially working out of town. I haven't had to do that since I gave up the 9 to 5 and decided to work for myself. But my brother was desperate to get someone he could trust for his kitchen, and well, I couldn't think of anyone better. I will be here until the end of the week and then go home to the family on the weekend. I miss them more than I thought I would.

I figured it would be nights on the town and plenty of trips to the pub to recapture my youth – but it turns out that my brother has grown up considerably in my absence and hardly leaves the house, other than to go to work. I thought free and single blokes are supposed to kick up their heels. Turns out the responsibility of a mortgage and a good job are about all he can handle at the moment.

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30 November 1999

Well, the job at my brothers did run over just a little bit and much to Claire's annoyance I didn't get back until Sunday afternoon. I told her it was down to trouble getting hold of the tiles, which was true, but it could also have had some something to do with the REALLY big night out on the Saturday.

I just don't do this sort of thing that often any more and so I was expecting I would go out for a couple of hours and leave it at that. But it turns out my brother had been keen to get out as well and the excuse of his friend's birthday was too much to turn down. So we headed to a pub which we used to frequent when I lived at home, where I ran into some old friends. I was surprised they still went to the same place, and it turns out their lives haven't changed that much. They have just added wives, girlfriends and kids to the mix. They still do the same jobs and live in the same area. Thinking about it later, this felt a bit sad, as they didn't seem overly happy with the situation and seemed really interested in my self-employed life in the village.

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30 November 1999

Today I am going to have a chat about technology, you know, gadgets. Those horrible things that seem to run our lives these days, but succeed in making life hell for everyone else.

I am talking about a specific incident which set off my train of thought today. I was at my local Screwfix this morning and a fellow builder was in front of me in the queue. I would say that builders are often thought of as easy going, salt of the earth types and to be honest most are. But this guy happened to be on his mobile while in the queue, something which seemed to transform his personality.

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30 November 1999

Things are going pretty smoothly for me at the moment...touch wood. This is a good saying for a builder as wood is pretty much everywhere I go! But to be honest I could say that this week has been pretty much perfect – work-wise.

I have been doing a series of little jobs, which are right up my street. There is nothing better than being paid for a days work, when the job only takes three or four hours. This week I have had three of these, so far. One more to go and then a day off... the joys of being self employed.

So on Monday I did a cat flap for one of my neighbours and fixed her outside tap. I was finished by 1.30pm and didn't feel in the least bit guilty. I did a good job, got paid a fair amount for a tradesman of my considerable skill and went home early to be with my kids. There was no stress, no having to go out and buy materials, no having to leave jobs unfinished and having to try and clean up at the end of the day. Done and dusted and there you go – easy!

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30 November 1999

Well, the country seems to be headed for election fever over the next few weeks and it has started already. The old leaflets are starting to come through the door and the rhetoric is coming across the TV and radio. But when it comes down to it, what we all want is to be able to get a mortgage, get paid for an honest days work and not get fleeced every which way.

Yep, you guessed it, I am talking banks today. Like all those other self employed people out there, I recently had to pay a nice big tax bill. Fair enough, but it is frightening how much of my hard earned cash goes into paying for hair brained Government schemes or worse still, bank bailouts...

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30 November 1999

This week has been mad. I have been so busy that I seriously don't know if I am coming or going. I go to bed thinking about what I have to do the next day and wake up thinking about what I didn't get done the day before.

Just a couple of weeks ago I was pleased that I just had a few small jobs to do. Well, this week those small jobs have all turned into a waterfall of “do this” and “do that”. Problem is that when you are in someone's house, they see an opportunity.

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