Lunch Wednesday 23 August - Thai Style Mango & Tomato Salad

This is the third time I have made this recipe since I started this blog - I guess that makes it a favourite. See entry Lunch Wednesday 26 July for recipe.

Bad day - new cooker delivered around 10:00. It is gorgeous - a New World Ellingwood 80G gas range cooker in black & silver.

BUT, the couriers refused to take away old cooker as agreed. They told me that New World fitter (due Thursday) could move old cooker out of the way and put new cooker in kitchen. They also told me New World fitter would set up the cooker as well (install burners etc). They repeatedly insisted I sign for delivery; reluctantly, I signed delivery as "UNCHECKED".

Both couriers then told me that they could smell gas "or it might be your spices". Left new cooker in hallway and left.

What spices smell like gas?

Concerned that they had smelled gas, I called National Gas Emergency number and told them what had happened. They suggested that I should switch off gas meter and wait for their engineer to arrive.

British Gas engineer arrived and checked meter - all OK, no gas leak. He had a laugh and suggested that couriers has told me they smelled gas so that they had a health & safety reason for refusing to take old cooker.

I felt like total plonker as I had been genuinely worried about gas leak danger, even though I could not smell gas myself.

Called New World and asked about getting old cooker removed; they advised that it would be collected Friday 25 August. The fitter us still due tomorrow, so not sure how all this is going to work.

Spent rest of day painting kitchen ahead of installation of cooker tomorrow. Flat is like a maze, with one range cooker in the middle of the kitchen, another in the hallway, all the kitchen contents piled up in the lounge etc.

Kitties are half loving the intrigue of it all and half terrified by all the changes.