Page 21 - WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE DISCOVERING ENGLAND

problem, knowing full well it was the
Mary rushed in to see what the racket noise the owners had heard. It was, of
was all about. She looked at me and the course, the toilet.
bed, and then shook her head. “The toi-
let doesn’t work,” she said.
I began to count the seconds between
jackhammer events. The interval was
We both started to laugh. No doubt - our the same three times in a row. Then my
flat was broke.
experience with home repair came into
play and I deduced the cause. The toilet
Gingerly I got out of bed and put the
iPhone to work to contact One Fine Left: Mary James in front of Buckingham
Stay. Within an hour, an engineer Palace, just a couple of blocks from her tiny
(maintenance man) appeared at the flat. Right top: Ron and Mary ate out -- many
door. Two hours later, he had the bed When we returned, it was lights out. We times. A tasty sandwich from one of several
level and the toilet flushing. The own- both nodded off quickly, but in about delis in the neighborhood was convenient for
ers, it seems, had turned the water off three hours I was awake. There was breakfast and lunch. Bottom right: A teapot
in the bathroom because of an irritat- a noise, like a muted jack hammer. It for sale at a Buckingham Palace gift shop;
ing noise. We crowded into the loo, would go for a while and then stop. It Keep Calm and Carry On became our mantra.
flushed and listened. Thankfully all was was just loud enough to be irritating.
quiet. We left shortly after he did, in I’d dozed off for a while and then jerk
search of dinner. There was no way we awake as the rubber jackhammer rattled
would be cooking at home tonight to life. By now, I was trying to solve the

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