If We Didn't Have Bad Luck...

As the saying goes "If we didn't have bad luck, we'd have no luck at all."  Welcome to the to the last two weeks where everything that could go wrong, did.

Rewind to the 8th of May.  A great occasion as my eldest son celebrated his 18th birthday in fine and traditional style.  Much dancing and drinking, fun and laughter and to borrow a phrase from my cousin "A jolly time was had by all."

Fast forward 24 hours and the disasters began.  My wife slipped in the shower and fractured her coccyx.  We spent some hours in A&E before she was sent home with Codeine and told to rest for two weeks.  Returning home we discovered the dog was very lame, bouncing around on three legs.  A trip to the vets left me out of pocket with some more medication, a diagnosis of a tweaked cruciate ligament and instructions to cage rest a hyperactive Border Collie for at least a week.

With extra time on her hands, my wife attempted to organise an upgrade for the 18 year olds mobile phone.  A five minute job turned into a five day epic as the nameless provider gave what can only be described as the worst customer service experience we have ever known. 

First she tried online.  The system kept crashing.  When she rang up they struggled to accept the payment of the correct upgrade fee.  Then once the fee was paid, they lost it.  Then they found it, but couldn't proceed with the order because there was already an order on the system.  Then when the order was finally placed, the contract couldn't be signed because there was another on the system that had to expire first.  Then the handset was out of stock.  Then it wasn't and it eventually arrived.  Then the SIM card was faulty and they had to send another.

Next my mother rang to say my 96 year old Nan had fallen and was in hospital.  Also her cousin had died suddenly after a short battle with cancer.  My wife then received the news that her 97 year old aunt had died.

If all that wasn't enough, there was The Fridge.

Ever since we moved into our house we've had two Fridge/Freezers.  This is because, before we got together my wife and I had one each.  Lately one of the fridges has begun to fail as it was fairly ancient.  The other on its own was too small for us and since we have a chest freezer, we have been on the lookout for a suitable large fridge.  Matters became more urgent when our daughters Fridge/Freezer died suddenly.  We made a plan to give away the ancient fridge, give the working one to our daughter, and replace them both with a new fridge.  

To that end we had a voucher which entitled us to a selection from an online retailer.  The selection wasn't great, but one appliance appeared to be just the thing.  A 70:30 split Fridge/Freezer with next day delivery.  We just had to pay £90 extra.  Order placed, money paid, job done.

Except.  When it arrived it was an integrated Fridge/Freezer, not freestanding as advertised.  The type that fits into a cupboard, no use to us at all.  So it was sent back and we investigated the alternatives from the retailer.  There was nothing suitable unless we were prepared to pay £500+ extra.  So after much swearing I bought an American fridge/freezer from Facebook Marketplace for £160.

Pleased to have reached a solution, youngest son and I set off into the depths of Lancashire in the Land Rover to collect it.  LG, Shiny, Silver, Water and Ice Dispenser.  Sounds perfect so what could possibly go wrong?

We transported it home.  Put it in the kitchen.  Let it settle for six hours.  Then plugged it in.  It lit up and then, all the fuses in the house blew.

It's times like these when all you can do is laugh.

With all that had happened, with MOT's due on both cars, a daughter desperate for our fridge and a large LG paperweight in the kitchen we went to the pub to mull things over.  The restorative effect of a well known Belgian lager worked wonders.

After chatting with a friend and testing some circuits on the fridge I discovered the freezer defrost heater had failed.  A new one ordered for thirty quid and the liberal use of a screwdriver repaired the fridge, we even have the Ice Dispenser working.

Daughter is delighted, she has her own fridge again.  We are relieved, my wife's condition has improved, my Nan just has some bruising and is staying with my Mum for the time being.  The dog isn't lame, eldest son has a new phone and we have ice for our Gin & Tonics.

Maybe our luck might finally be changing.  Maybe.