Journey to the top of the roof

After losing part of my roof last week I managed to get it fixed this week. I thought the insurance assessor was somewhat lackadaisical but once they agreed as to what the repairs cost they moved things along quite quickly. As it was I went with a local roofing contractor which meant that they were able to fix the thing as soon as the weather allowed rather than sending of a request to their own contractor to be “signed in triplicate, sent in, sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in soft peat for three months and recycled as firelighters” (to quote Douglas Adams). To the credit of the insurance firm, they were very prompt sending through the settlement cheque.

This did mean that it would cost me slightly more than the £100 excess I was expecting but I did take the opportunity to upgrade the insulation on that part of the house whilst the roof was off. Insulation is one of those things that we are meant to do to save the planet. I think most people actually do it in an attempt to reduce their fuel bills but my primary reason for doing it is to try and make the house more comfortable. Not that the thought of depriving British Gas of revenue doesn’t appeal to me. I didn’t expect to notice much difference but the effect is remarkable. I usually find the bathroom a bit chilly first thing in the morning but on Friday it felt quite acceptable; even the tiled floor felt warm. I just put this down to warmer weather – at least until I went outside to find it a chilly 2 degrees – the insulation really does make a difference.

That just left the mangled TV aerials to sort out. I’m actually pretty good at fixing these but I dislike working up ladders. However, as the aerials are on a chimney pot in the middle of the flat roof I was pretty sure I would be OK doing it myself. I went up a ladder and got as far as the roof. I looked down. I felt the adrenalin rush kick in. I felt sick to the pit of my stomach. I phoned the TV aerial repair people. Whatever they charge, it’s going to be worth it.

Anyway, after all that excitement I settled down to watch this weeks Doctor Who. Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS was really aimed at long time fans of the show as we finally get to see more (much more) of the TARDIS interior. There were quite a few references to earlier episodes as we get to see the giant library, the swimming pool and various living quarters as well as the internal TARDIS workings. It seemed to be quite organic looking (reminding me of the film Avatar). For some reason I had always imagined that the TARDIS was more of a steam-punk contraption. I was also a little disappointed that they didn’t find the secondary control room with it’s oak panelling which was used in the late 70s. I expect it would cost too much to build every set just to please aged old geeks like me.

One blast from the past I did notice is that there was a great deal of running around corridors (that favourite staple of cost conscious Sci-Fi). I bet this was a wind up for internet forum malcontents but then the resolution, the big friendly reset button, must have been Steven Moffat giving a big two fingered salute at all those would-be script writers who constantly bicker about plot details. In fact, I think he should have called it the “Deus Ex Machina” device. Go on Steven, I dare you!