The fear of being shafted

Well today should of been the day the Roofer came, to check out the tiles and serve an eviction notice on the flying rats who still clatter down them each morning.  No phone call, nothing.  Mind it did rain bad yesterday and he probably thought it wasn't worth breaking his neck falling from the roof today.  I don't blame him, I wouldn't either.  The thing is I still need the job done and am approaching desperation, but want someone who is competent and not a cowboy.  I don't know about anyone else but I always feel those people who maintain houses by working on them are out in some way to shaft me of my readies.  Builders, workmen, plumbers, fitters, joiners, roofers, brickies, glaziers, sparkies the whole bloody lot.  Maybe part of it is because a lot of their kind of jobs like changing washers on taps, mixing cement are the kind which don't strike me as particularly difficult.  When I say difficult, I mean they do involve a degree of skills, but once those skills have been learnt then there is not much in the way of learning a great deal more.  Whereas at my own Fish Factory job, there are so many technical changes in weights measures, legal requirements the mind can quite easily be blown away with it all.  To me, if you need to do general building work then there should be someone who lives in your own street who will pop in and help you out for the cost of a cup of tea and a chit chat.  This is a cuckoo land fairy tale, because this mental image is nothing like the reality.  Bloody cowboys, being shafted and just when the pain is too much to bear you get shafted again.  Maybe I been watching too many of those programs on TV about con men builders. Oh please sir don't use the pineapple my arse is too sore.

On a quite different note, poor Rock Chick fell over and hurt her foot while it was still in the process of recovering from the operation.  Sparkling has told me it will take another week of having the foot dressed.  Sparkling is doing so many hours in the her Fish Factory she is exhausted and sleeps like a log.  I expect the aliens wont even be bothering with abducting her then.

I've just this minute had a phone call from the roofer, excellent news.  He's gong to come tomorrow, with his mate.  Maybe my rant was a little premature.  Or maybe I'll experience a shafting when I get his expert opinion on how much work will be needed.  OK better get the lube out, hide the fruit, and do a couple of Hail Mary's on the rosary.  Shit just realised I don't believe in the faith thing.  Boy am I f.....d.