Everything's working again!

The dishwasher is fixed! Turns out the repair man did come yesterday, but my phone was in my pocket, so my leg! was blocking the signal - so much for satellites - the dogs were lurking inside, frightened of baboons, so didn't bark, although I constantly looked through the bathroom window to see whether he had arrived, I must have missed him, Robert was watching the pathetic cricket on the TV and couldn't be bothered to listen for a car in the driveway, we don't have a bell at the gate, and Mr Bosch's car hooter doesn't work. With all that working against us, no wonder he had to eventually give up and leave. Anyway, we sorted it all out in the end and he turned up this morning, took the machine apart, pronounced the filter to be somewhat clogged (a little hygienic maintenance would be in order!) but fortunately also found a minor leak which was the real problem. AEG have all kinds of safety features built into their machines and this is only the second time I have called him out for this particular dishwasher, bought in 1999. Pretty good going for something that works every day.

I then had a flash of inspiration and asked if he knew anything about gas stoves. I have been unable to use 3 of the 5 plates for nearly two years now - I went away for a holiday and when I came back, nothing worked - par for the course when I disappear for a while. Ever since, I have been trying to find the hole where the gas comes out, using acupuncture needles, but have been unable to locate them. Anyway, within 2 seconds he had shown me where the problem was; I wasn't even close in trying to find the holes! He said never clean a gas stove with handy andy (do you think it counts as not naming if I don't use capitals?) as it clogs the holes, use a spray cleaner and gently clear with a needle and allow to dry.

What an exciting day! To have the use of all the plates again, and at no charge, set me in a frenzy of cooking - out came the duck breasts we didn't have at Christmas, a pot of beetroot picked from the farm this morning was set to simmer immediately, and stir-fried vegetables thrown into the wok which can once again take pride of place in its special cradle on the middle plate!

If anyone needs a really good repair man who doesn't charge the earth and will tell you it's only a loose wire without replacing the pump and filter, Mr Bosch of African Electric is your man!