There seems to be a creeping acceptance that they are finally admitting that a vague promise of “sometime in the future” is an admission that mañana is the order of the day.

Last summer I applied for an upgrade to the house from the point of view of energy efficiency. This is a gubmint scheme [I think under orders from the EU] to upgrade every house in the country to save energy. Ambitious? Not at all. Pen pushers never seem to understand that some things are next to impossible [getting everyone to use public transport or getting everyone to only use electricity as an alternative to every other form of energy for example].

All that aside, I did discover in the small print that I could avail of a 100% grant to upgrade the Manor. This was too good an opportunity to miss. I applied.

Some months later a bloke arrived and agreed that yes, we did need an upgrade and yes, we are entitled to a full grant.

Time passed and another bloke turned up. He was a cheerful chappie who poked and prodded his way around the Manor, peering into every corner and measuring everything. He eventually left saying we would hear from someone who would do the necessary jobs around the place, installing insulation and replacing windows and the like.

Since then – nothing.

I got a letter a while back from the Electrickery lot. We are to get a smart meter apparently. I’m not sure I want one but they seemed to leave me in no doubt that the decision had be made and I would just have to suck it up. They would be in touch sometime in the coming weeks.

Since then – nothing.