It pains me to admit it but there are times when one just needs a man. I do not want to tar all women with the same brush but if like me you have few practical bones in your body there are certain tasks that require the "Y" chromosome. Having been brought up on a farm I have gained a little knowledge of DIY, although limited as my father would usually find it easier to fix the problem alone rather than with my so called 'help'.
With the risk of sounding incredibly old fashioned or older than my years I do feel that men of my age are lacking in the practical skills regularly demonstrated by the older generations. It therefore frustrates me when every seemingly insignificant problem that arises in my flat can not be solved by a friend and has to result in the hiring of a "specialist".
This observation has been highlighted by the failure of my washing machine - two months later and after four paid visits I can at last have clean clothes. I am not sure if the time taken to repair my machine or the thought of eight weeks worth of unwashed clothes is the most alarming? Yes I do have a large wardrobe of clothes but even I could not survive that long, I resorted to student behaviour again by coming home with a car boot full of laundry.
Usually the advantage of a hired professional results in a rapid solution, in my case this was not so. The visit from the washing machine "technician" left me with an apparently straightforward diagnosis plus a new and incredibly disconcerting dilemma; how to access the back of the built-in machine? In the words of the technician the only option was to knock down the wall and of course he did not possess these skills. After a few sleepless nights it was to my huge relief that the following visit from the carpenter proved this theory to be false.
