The joys of keeping warm

[Alice Abbott]

I understand there is a mini heatwave in the UK at the moment. We are also having something similar, our outdoor thermometer is showing 28° at the moment. All this makes the problems we had last night sound a little pointless but it really does get chilly here in the evenings!

As our living room is open right up to the roof tiles (probably about 50 feet at the highest) we put a large old tarpaulin over the first floor beams last winter. It kept the living area snug and was actually large enough (it's one of those heavy duty truck sheets) to cover the dining room (our bedroom at present) plus most of the kitchen and hallway. Putting it up involves Mack sitting on the beams, folding the cover out and holding it down in various places with some bricks.

So up he went last night, spread it all out beautifully and secured it, then got as far the uprights he has installed for the top of the new staircase which is going up from the hallway. He promptly forgot they were there, backed into them, lost his balance and fell out of the roof! Fortunately he managed to grab a pair of cross beams as he went and when I came in from the kitchen to investigate the shouting and swearing I found him dangling six feet from the floor like some sort of maniacal gymnast. I had visions of broken bones and took a few seconds to work out how on earth we could get him down. I wanted to dash out to the barn for the stepladder but he had the only torch up there with him and it's pitch black in the barn so decided against that on the basis I would probably have ended up with a broken neck to go with his broken legs. I eventually grabbed the kids' camp bed mattresses to put down so he had a soft landing and he dropped onto them. He seems more or less none the worse for wear, thank goodness.

I suppose the funniest thing was that he had to go back up there to rescue his torch. I DID offer but he knows I'm pretty clumsy and with the tarpaulin down there is no way of really seeing where the cross beams are to walk on because the material is too thick. I must say he was a lot less blasé this time!

So if it's really cold tonight and we have another log fire the heat will stay in the room, Mack will stay on the ground floor, the kids will stop thinking their Dad does these strange things just for their entertainment and I will stay calm and collected for once...

[snapdragon]

ooooh lor! glad he managed a safe landing

[MuddyWitch]

Glad it turned out well, but I bet the pair of you were shaken!

MW

[homegrown]

Is this the start of the self-sufficientish olympics

This is the mental picture that sprang to mind, I remember seeing this a while ago.

[Alice Abbott]

This was definitely him, even down to the sorry looking face!

[contadino]

Glad he is OK. It's quite a knack to learn to grab hold of something whilst you're falling. I fell out of an olive tree a couple of years ago, but my pocket snagged on a branch and held me for a few seconds. The wife went to get a ladder and came back with the little step ladder, which wasn't much use as I was about 3m up. As I was ahem...politely asking for a longer ladder, my pocket ripped and I fell a bit more, but this time my belt caught on another branch. Whilst not comfortable, it gave me time to get my footing.

[MKG]

Glad he is OK. It's quite a knack to learn to grab hold of something whilst you're falling. I fell out of an olive tree a couple of years ago, but my pocket snagged on a branch and held me for a few seconds. The wife went to get a ladder and came back with the little step ladder, which wasn't much use as I was about 3m up. As I was ahem...politely asking for a longer ladder, my pocket ripped and I fell a bit more, but this time my belt caught on another branch. Whilst not comfortable, it gave me time to get my footing.

Immediately reminded me of Wile E. Coyote

Glad you survived!

Mike