Messing about on the river……..

by Kate on August 4th, 2011 | work | 13 Comments » |

I have a new job!!!

 

I have been working as a temp at Sawley Marina for ten weeks now, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, and now they have given me a permanent contract!!.. I work in the Chandlery there, and sell all sorts of items to some of the nicest people!!!

The Marina is very large and attracts many visitors  for the boat brokerage, moorings and canal boat hire, not to mention the passers by – on boats or otherwise – so there is always a holiday air about the place. The Chandlery sells a huge amount of things, everything for the boating enthusiast from dinghys to outboard engines right down to the smallest shackle – the list is endless. There is also a part of the shop that caters for basic food shopping for the new arrivals – just to start them off…… then there is clothing – including wetsuits, maps and souvenirs….

Try counting these for next months stock take!!!!

And outside the boats go by – narrow boats and cruisers – it’s idyllic….

This is the first time I have worked in a retail environment and I love it – I have previously dealt with customer service but usually on the complaints side – we don’t get many complaints here!!!

And if you need any splicing doing – this is the guy to ask……

Rope and splicing expert!!!!

 

And on the left here is our Honda and Chandlery expert- she is amazing!!!

Which just leaves me – a people expert with computer skills!!!!

I am enjoying every minute!!!!

Dolls Houses For Grown Ups.

by Kate on July 7th, 2011 | diary | 12 Comments » |

There are some little shops at the Marina where I am working and this one is really lovely.

As the title suggests it sells hand made dolls houses but not for children – these are definitely for grown ups!!!

Chris, the owner of this business has a workshop where he creates these beautiful houses, some with brick facia and some without – they are truly amazing and without the modern influence really take you on a trip to times gone by.

hand finished and beautifully furnished – this house is lovely

 

I think they have the look of one of our stately homes in miniature, exquisitely decorated and furnished.

with a choice of bathroom suite

and bedroom accessories – its all there

This is a finished dolls house from the outside – and below is one under construction

each of those bricks has been placed by hand – true craftsmanship.

I thought they were lovely – what do you think?

In a flap!!!!!

by Kate on June 24th, 2011 | house and garden | 13 Comments » |

It was just too easy I suppose – working two minutes away from home meant I could come home in my lunch hour and let Alfie out. but a recent turn of events have left me job-hunting again and ‘temping’ in the interim. Something had to be done as Alfie is important in my life and I worry if I think he is being left too long unable to get into the garden.

 

My friends have been helping but they have their lives too and conscious that this is my problem I looked for alternatives.

 

One alternative was employing a dog walker but they are expensive and I am not really happy leaving my keys with people I don’t know, however honest they may be.

 

So……. plan B was to get a dog flap fitted in my back door – then Alfie would be able to come and go as he pleased.

 

 

The back door was a upvc one with two glass panels, top and bottom. I searched the internet for ideas and discovered that it was do-able either fitted into glass or replace the bottom panel with a upvc one and fit a dog flap into that one. I sent emails to various companies and received some very different quotes – one company said they just didn’t cover my area of the country which was a possibility that hadn’t occurred to me.

 

Then I found Colin , I had seen his website www.catflapfitter.co.uk  and sent an email asking for advice, he actually says on his website that he doesn’t cover my area of the country but the testimonials from his customers led me to believe that he was at least worth contacting.

 

He answered my email almost immediately with a quote that was way less expensive than others, and requested that I call if I needed further information.

I rang and we discussed the possibility of getting this job done relatively quickly – amazingly, he agreed to travel to my home and carry out the work that very day! Now that’s what I call service!

He arrived at 1.30 p.m. and the job was done – exactly as I wanted.

 

Alfie was very scared at first but after a lot of throwing biscuits through the flap and tying up the piece of the frame that rattled until he gets used to it, he is now using his new door!!!

 

Brilliant and I can now be out of the house for a few hours without worrying. The garden is secure and Alf just loves lying in the sunshine……

 Thank you Colin! that was customer service beyond belief!!!!