[doganjo]

My neighbour and I live at the wrong side of the tracks obviously!  We are the only two houses in Clackmannan that have had no water since 23rd December between 1,30 and 3,30 pm.  How can I be so precise?  Because I had lunch around 1pm, including a cup of tea having run just enough from tap to kettle for one mug, then went out shopping, my neighbours were out before me but got back at 3,30 - the water was on when I left and off when they came back.  Strange coincidence then that on my visit to have my hair done in the village my hairdresser told me that there was a burst water main pouring water down the hill,  we looked out and it had been turned down but not stopped.  To get to our two houses the water falls about 100 feet from the mains pipe, then has to go up about 10/15 feet to get over the railway bridge.  I reckon if they turned the pressure down it wouldn't be able to get up that distance and it froze or just can't get over to us.  Logic?  Oh, no! Scottish Water don't know why we have had no water for three weeks, they think the pipes between their toby and our houses must be frozen - even though it happened in the middle of the day when the temperature was raised!  I am dirty, my hair is dirty, my dogs are dirty, their beds are dirty, my bed is dirty, my dishes are dirty, their dishes are dirty, my loos are dirty.   I had the embarrassing ignominy the other day of having to ask my daughter if I smell when she visited with my grandchildren. 
For God's sake don't any of you visit me for at least 4 weeks after the water comes back on - IF it ever does.   And don't anyone say anything about 3rd World countries.  Yes, we have running water, but we also have systems that need it to function.  It is what we are used to.  Flushing loos, washing machines, dishwashers, showers, baths.  Please, please can I have my 1st World life back!

[faith0504]

oh god cant believe your still without water, what have scottish water said they are going to do??? 

[little blue]

grrrrr! on your behalf.  as you say, so much for being 1st world....

[doganjo]

Hmm, Scottish Water keep ringing me to ask if my water is back on, and to offer bottled water whenever I need it..............  so I guess they don't really know what is wrong.  I have driven past the burst main every day for the last 5 days and although they have it cordoned off, the hole is full of water and there is never anyone there.  But that said I think they are overwhelmed by the number of burst mains and houses with burst pipes so I feel I can't really blame them - they are trying to get everyone back online and they are always very pleasant and sympathetic.

[knightquest]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I hope you get your water turned on as soon as possible. Don't be put off. Have a good moan and get your voice heard until they fix your problem. She who shouts loudest for longest usually gets her problem sorted much faster 

Good luck

Ian

[The Woodsiders]

bet you really don`t smell that bad

[doganjo]

Well, in answer to the question, Sarah did say - 'not that you'd notice'    Do you think she might be trying to protect my feelings?

[Bright Raven]

You smell lovely from here. 

[doganjo]

It's probably the Vanderbilt, or maybe the Oscar de la Renta, or maybe the EL Youth Dew - got all three for Christmas and Birthday.

[Rosemary]

When you can smell yourself, you know it's bad 

Try Riverbank Laundry in Alloa - excellent service and reasonable rates - I mean for yoru laundry, not for you 

Now have a mental picture of you spinning round in one of the big washers 

[doganjo]

 

My lovely son-in-law spent ages digging out our drive yesterday and it's covered in snow again.  My next door neighbours have calor gas (thank goodness I'm on mains) and they are almost out of gas.  The tanker arrived at lunchtime to refill their tank and got stuck - nearly took my fence down, so now they have no water, no drainage, and no heating - at least I am warm!  Dirty, but warm.  Same applies to my dogs and birds! And thank goodness for the snow - at least I can melt that for the animals and loos.
Duncan also took all the stinking dog beds away to the Tullybody launderette, so from tomorrow the dogs will have warm, clean beds.  Scottish Water are being very attentive - had three calls from them today and two lots of bottled water, but nothing on stream as yet.  An engineer just checked the main road and said there was enough pressure over there to lift the water 20 feet so I guess our pipe is frozen from the bridge.  Hope they are right about warmer weather from Wednesday and rain!  Just been watching Piers Corbyn on youtube that Gary posted - quoted from the link below

The fact is the UK VAT rise would not be necessary if politicians drop the failed ideology of man-made climate change. Rejection of the failed pseudo-science of CO2 manmade climate change would save the UK £18 billion per year – £5bn more than the VAT hike grab by the exchequer!

Read and discuss - http://www.weatheraction.com/docs/WANews11No1.pdf

Are we having a mini ice age or what?

[robert waddell]

surely if railtrack installed the bridge (it is their property) they have a responsibility to you and your neighbour for access and the water supplie now this is just my opinion but your house is not habitable poor access no water and no sanitation was it this way in winter before railtrack came on the scene i know you have problems with the coal trains there was an article in the herald just recently

[doganjo]

surely if railtrack installed the bridge (it is their property) they have a responsibility to you and your neighbour for access and the water supplie now this is just my opinion but your house is not habitable poor access no water and no sanitation was it this way in winter before railtrack came on the scene i know you have problems with the coal trains there was an article in the herald just recently

The land on either side of the line was owned by a farmer who sold the land to the railway authorities and to a developer.  The lane over the bridge has to be adopted by the Council for access problems to be alleviated and since there are only our two houses that is unlikely to happen.  It is extreme to say our houses are not habitable, that is not so.  In any case, because our houses were built after the railway line was put through, then we have less rights - the railway was discontinued in the 1960's and only re-opened in 2003.  It is a very complicated legal issue and not anything like as simple as you would think.  I have no problem with the coal trains at all.  I do have a problem with them running at night but that is a totally separate issue, and is presently being discussed by the Parliament. 

The issue of the water is frozen pipes (possibly at the toby point on the pavement) at the other side of the bridge.  It is totally unrelated to the railway or council authorities responsibilities.

[robert waddell]

i was under the impresion your house was there before the railway was reintroduced
in the early 60s (when entire comunities had no water because of frozen pipes) the regulations were changed to prevent the same happening again .of hand i think the water pipes have to be2 1/2ft below the surface the drainage has similar requirements(building regulations) on that bassis that was why i said it was uninhabitable possible the wrong terminology   (what conditions people endured fifty years ago is not acceptable now)if the predictions are right for harder winters to come your problems are going to get worse all to often developers cut corners and have seen this first hand it is unusual for Scottish water to make an error in installing there system having worked with them in the past also did you or the previous owner have the same problem last year

[doganjo]

i was under the impresion your house was there before the railway was reintroduced

Yes, it was but that doesn't change the fact that the pipes are frozen and until the weather changes - hopefully this week - then I will be without water.  Scottish Water don't have a magic wand unfortunately    But my house wasn't here when the railway was first built and it was never officially closed down, it only went into disuse which is a different legal term.