Mud, mud, glorious mud, nothing quite like it for cooling the blood . . .

That is a line from a favourite childhood song of The Man of the Place. It could have been played yesterday and it would have been very appropriate. About 7:30 pm last night, our plumber showed up to do the small job of hooking up our new bathroom to the water main. It was raining. The plumber was supposed to show up two weeks ago when we were having that lovely dry spell. Nope, it was best to wait until the holes had refilled with water.

I didn't get any action shots as Henry was getting up to the oxters in mud. It would have been supremely insensitive of me to go snapping photos like the worst of the worst paparazza while he was digging away in our very own version of the Somme. The above is the finished product. The rising main in the new bathroom. We'll have to fashion a removable panel that will go behind the bath. Then, should there be a burst pipe, or some other watery disaster, we can turn the water off sharpish.

This is the big hole under the bathroom window. Henry had to dig this underneath the wall of the bathroom. Note that houses built in the 1830's really don't have much in the way of foundations.

A trench was dug a couple of months ago and the blue pipe was laid in. Connecting this length of pipe to the mains and the house didn't happen until yesterday. You can see the cut off bits of pipe floating in the rain water that has filled the hole. Henry had to bail it out before he could get in there and do his work. Expensive plumbers get even more expensive if they have to get muddy. Best to keep them dry.

This is what Henry's boiler suit looked this morning before I put it in the wash. Hint: When washing the boiler suit, check ALL the pockets for nails and screws. It will lengthen the life of your washing machine.

Now the holes must be refilled. It will save us a fortune in lawsuits and the lives of countless hedgehogs.