How many times do you flush the toilet?

Wednesday 17th February 2016

“Everything nourishes what is strong already”  - Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Today was a day of practicality, not only did I have to work, but I had to start trying to detangle our finances and try and capture some benefits of living alone!  My call to Affinity Water warmed my heart and made me chuckle today.

The lady I spoke to was very lovely, I explained my partner had moved out and I wanted to see if I could lower my monthly direct debit.  As there is now no beard maintenance going on in this house, my water consumption should reduce drastically!  She removed his details from the account and explained she would have to run me through some questions to ascertain my anticipated water usage.  

"Question 1 - How many times a day do you flush the toilet?"

Well... Who knows the answer to that! And if you do know, HOW? and WHY? After laughing for longer than she probably expected, I had to confess I had no idea, it's an unconcious thing I do.  I began to think I should go more at work to economise at home. 

Sadly the other questions were less amusing, do I prefer baths or showers, how many loads of washing do I do a week, how many times do I use the Kitchen tap etc. I had to guess.  I mean I've lived alone before, but I was in my twenties and I drank mostly stubbies or spirits and I flushed my toilet more then mainly due to the room spinning hangovers!

She listened as I struggled to guesstimate and explained that she lived alone, and we had a nice chat, I actually felt myself actually bonding with a stranger over the phone!  I was a step away from saying we should get a coffee when she advised me I could drop my payments by a whopping £12 a month!  Result!  

The call ended with her wishing me well for the future. Isn't that lovely, a perfect stranger taking a moment out of her day to wish me well.  If only everyone was that nice, the world would definitely be a happier place.

So I find myself in a positive frame of mind this evening, I have 4 days off to spend with family and friends in the north, to reassure my Mum that I'm not just putting a brave face on things, and that this is my actual face!  

Of course I have had to pack, and I have to just say how much I LOVE doing that!

But the one thing I must buy this weekend is a chalkboard for the bathroom and start keeping count!

So Country Roads, Take Me Home!