Jack gets in on time for a change – –

What a bourach (see below) we’ve just gone through –

Wendy and I try to be as self sufficient as possible and that includes doing our best to fix technology when it goes wrong.

But the last couple of weeks have been a test –

First of all our dishwasher started to leave everything less than clean, so it was time to dismantle the birling (see below) arms and clean them. In the process of re-assembling them we noticed a wee tube thing in the front corner that we’d never examined the last time. When we lifted up the cover over it we found it was really manky (see below). Of course we broke a few small clips trying to remember how the arms came off and on!

Then the dryer suddenly stopped working in mid program and nothing would make it work. Since we rarely use it we gave it away to a friend for spares. So now we have more cupboard space.

The waste disposal unit in the sink began making nasty noises so I decided to take it out and examine it. These things are a hooer o a wecht (see below). I checked it out and it took both of us with much testing of the marriage vows to get it re-installed – and it still made the nasty noises. So we bought a new one – –

The ice maker in the freezer stopped dispensing ice so we took the tray out and found a bag of bread twisted round the turny roon screwy thing (see below). We had to cut the bag into pieces to get it disentangled and were sure we’d buggered (see below) it. But no – once we’d checked everything else out it began making ice and dispensing!

Now the weird thing is –

For most of my life I’ve never had any of these things so I wonder why I felt the only one we could get rid of was the dryer? Who needs an ice maker or a waste disposal, or even a dishwasher? But we made the bread from the bag into French toast and it was no bad (see below).

Bourach – a lovely Scots gaelic word meaning a terrible mess.

Birling – a lovely lowland Scots word meaning turning fairly fast.

Manky – a more modern Scots word meaning horribly dirty and smelly.

Hooer o a wecht – Scots again – rather heavy.

Turny roon screwy thing – do I need to explain this?

Buggered – – –

No bad – almost good – the highest compliment a Scot is willing to pay.

Dinnae fash – another good and useful Scots phrase – keep calm and carry on.