Cut off

Back in the workshop after a week of snow - yippee! DB, MK and I inhaled the familiar scent of dope and thinners as we unlocked the door to a cold workshop. A quick inspection to confirm no leaks which was reassuring.

The tiny fan heater slowly warmed up and we got busy preparing to glue inspection rings on the wing. The boys doped and glued while I cut out the fabric to cover the rings. See our progress here.

Jules popped by and I passed over the shearing scissors to check on technique. It’s handy having a seamstress on the team, her early career spent at The Old Vic theatre in London working with stars such as Oliver Reed and Laurence Olivier.

The electricity went down at lunchtime leaving us without power, heat or light. There was no way of warming our soup for lunch so we shared my flask of hot tea and chomped on cold sausage rolls.

News came in that a power line had fallen in a nearby lane and was unlikely to be fixed before the day way out. So we packed up tools and headed back to the village to change into dry clothes and scrub off the dope.

Back in the cosy cottage and out of my soggy socks, I turned on the tap and... splutter, splutter, drip, drip, drip. Hmmm water cut?

Trundled along to the cafe spotting the CLOSED sign as I approached and popped in for a chat to lovely owners Sarah and David to discover the village has been without water since 1pm due to leaks in the area. “Not to worry it’s due back on at 6pm!”

The boys decided that if lattes were off the menu there was only one thing for it...beer! Off to the pub we went. Back at the cosy cottage later and we drank Earl Grey tea made from Evian water. How posh!

Cooking dinner was compromised without water to boil veg so I made do with roast chicken and raw spinach accompanied by wine... obviously to conserve my water supply!

Water cuts are widespread across villages in Kent as frozen pipes have burst with the temperature rising. The water supply to the village is due back sometime tomorrow...