What a week!

Last week I attended another affiliate conference due to the lure of a free BBQ & drink at Kensington Roof Gardens.

The day itself was very good � I managed to network with a number of people, but due to the turnout I didn�t see everyone that I wanted to. Strangely someone there mentioned that they read my blog � so if you are reading this Lee � I�m glad you enjoy my ramblings! Feel free to link here!

Anyhow, apart from the conference, last week was a bit of a disaster!

On the Saturday before last we experienced Flash Floods by our house � luckily they stopped just as the water got to the door line (about one and a half foot). After the floods had cleared, we realised we had quite a big problem. Our back garden was full of crap, literally. The sewage had blocked somewhere and we were left with an atrocious smell after the waste from the sewers came up though the garden and managed to get though the air bricks at the bottom of the house into the space under the floor boards, as well as all over the garden.

So Sunday morning I phoned up the council, who advised it was a Thames Water problem and got me to call them. I spoke to Thames water about 11am and I was advised I�d have a call back within two hours � these came and went with no call. So I phoned again; was told I�d definitely get a call back within two hours this time and eventually got it an hour and a half later. Someone was going to come and unblock the drain, but he would not be there for another 2 hours (this was about 2.30 now). We went out for lunch, got back and no sign of him. I phone Thames water again; another promise of a call back within two hours. When the call came though I was told he�d be there about 8 o clock. He got here at 9pm � found the problem down the road from us but was unable to block it and needed to call for a tanker to do it. The tanker came the next day; so now the drain is unblocked, but the stench in my garden is unbearable.

I told Thames Water that I had a three month old baby, and asked if the fumes coming off could be harmful, and I was told they could not guarantee the safety of our child. Will you give me a hotel room till it�s cleared up? I ask. No. Luckily, we were able to stay at my parents on Sunday night, and then Lindsey visited her sister until it was all cleared up.

On the Tuesday night I managed to get the mobile number of the contractors MD. I asked why it was taking so long, and he phoned back to let me know that there had been a �balls up� and that I was now a priority. Someone eventually came round at about 9pm on the Tuesday night, looked at the place and then said they couldn�t do anything as it had gone too dark. They promised that someone would come first thing on Wednesday.

Wednesday came along and as promised the contractors turned up at around 8am to clear up the mess; I had to go to work, but they promised to clear it all up for me. I kept my fingers crossed and when I returned home at 7pm and I was hoping for a nice clear back garden. It didn�t happen though � it was a lot better, however there was still raw sewage in the garden and it certainly wasn�t safe for the children to go anywhere near.

On Thursday I was told that it was not Thames Waters responsibility to fix the problem, and that when the water system were privatised the law was very much in favour of the new Water Companies � whilst they had to clear blockages they were not legally obliged to clear the mess caused by them. A day of phoning the contractors, the environmental health department and Thames Water had been useless � it looked more and more likely that I�d need to either do it myself (which I really objected to) or hire someone in to come and sort it out.

Friday was a much better day � someone from Thames Water phoned up and said that he wanted to inspect the house and see what kind of a job the contractors had done. I�m not sure what caused the change of mind but mentioning the local newspaper doing a story on it may have helped. The guy turned up at around the same time as the Environmental Health Department and both agreed that the job done by the contractors had not been done correctly. Another cleaning team was organised and turned up within an hour. Everything was so much better then � we stayed at my parents another night and Lindsey and my mum went to clean the house up and blast it with air-freshener and we finally moved back in a week after the floods.

Eventually my landlord called (he�d been out of the country) and offered to come to an agreement over the price of the rent for this month, although that�s still to be agreed. It�s a shame he was away as I imagine that the insurance company may have also helped the cause or cleaned the place up but I didn�t have their details.

I just hope we don�t have anymore flooding for a while now!