These are the posts I like!

It's nearly 8.15, I've been for a cycle ride [2 deer, 1 heron], done my exercise DVD [another huge "thanks" to Angie Miller], and had a problem resolved!

What's not to like?

I never have a problem with problems, only people who refuse to acknowledge them/make efforts to fix them.

Yesterday at the second meeting, I was looking at the bricks either side of the window opening, and they didn't look vertical. I was half a room away, in the middle of a meeting and tired, so I got out the spirit level and left it on my hairbrush [first thing I see after getting dressed] to remind me to look this morning.

Didn't sleep so well, so by 5.20am I'd given up and went out for a cycle ride.

[Today it was hard work, but conversely I also enjoyed parts of it a lot more, and there were even two (fairly shallow) hills that I freewheeled down without braking, so that's got to be progress, right? Even though it was painful, it was my fastest time yet for that route.]

Given that we are in a valley, the sun wasn't up when I set out at 5.30, so little point trying to take photos of the brickwork, should that be necessary. By the time I got back it was light, so I went off with my spirit level and camera.

I would love to say I had seen it wrong, but sadly, close to the vertical & horizontal lines looked worse. Spirit level confirmed my suspicions, so by 6.50 I'd emailed Messrs Mekki & Luparello.

Nothing to do then but wait, so I did my exercise DVD. Then as it was only 7.50, I dashed into the shower to de-stinkify before the builders arrived; nearly made it too!

In the shower I spent my time practicing what to say, and the best I could come up with was "I won't accept that" - my dad was a builder, for heaven's sake, he'd have gone mad if I accepted workmanship like that!

I went out as soon as I was decent [carrying my level, in case - it did seem a bit as though the builders haven't got one; the level around the room they are working to isn't (level)], only to see M. Alain & M. Franck taking down yesterdays courses. I said "I guess you've spoken with M. Mekki?" and M. Alain said they'd had a message from him.

I said thank you for re-doing it, and he said it's normal; the bricks must have moved when they back filled. Stupidly, I said that our experience is that it isn't always normal to re-do bad work! That's my problem, not his.

[Thankfully, I didn't have to put into practice the other phrase I'd rehearsed: "if necessary I will re-do it myself"! I could, but would prefer not to, and obviously it would be much quicker if I didn't.]

I will admit to watching J-M look at the bricks yesterday to see if he would comment/notice - if he did spot the error [and I could see it from half a room away; he was right next to them looking at them at one point!]. Anyway, he said nothing if he did notice. Either way I'm not impressed: if he didn't notice, what's he doing being a project manager; if he did notice why didn't he say anything? We'd got Messrs Mekki & Luparello there; they could have seen for themselves.

[I will, of course, eat my words (and mentally apologise) if he has said something to M. Mekki.]

So, the carpenters are not even here yet [not that I'm implying they are late], and we've got an issue resolved before it becomes an "issue". That's how project management should work!