I am having a bit of ´mare with clocks at present. Not the nice tickey / chimey sort, rather the "make the water run for 10 mins" sort. Two of them. Different models, ages and problems. Kaputski. Accordingly I went online and found a simpler "wind me up" (remember the old oven timers?) type and ordered it from Amazon. Then cancelled it before the wrapping had been completed as I found they had something similar in Lidls for half the price.
So I bought two.
Well, it made sense to me.
In the same timeframe (pun intended) one of G´s multiplicity of little alarm clocks went on the blink. Actually it closed its eyes permanently, as it had been on the blink for a good few weeks and had been "bodged"at least twice. Now it is buggered (and binned with the other timers in the "take to the recycle-truck" basket.)
We have cheapo Ikea clocks on the kitchen and pool patios as we are still slaves to the hour - but both of these clocks started to disintegrate as the plastic became brittle (and they are not even in the sunlight). I grabbed a couple of new (but different style ) ones last time I took G on a lunch date there (yeah, really) but one of them immediately threw itself off the wall on a windy night and smashed. Amazingly Lidl had one at a similar price last week (€6 - I am a real big spender), but with barometer and hygrometer functions and dials on the face too. Very cool (until self destruction takes over again).
Whilst the horological kit was going west, I had another "minor" issue with a key. Minor only as it was a small key, major in that it broke off in the lock. Worse it was the lock on the metal and glass back door reja. A little barrel lock riveted in place. No screws. No access (and I am not sure I could even take the door off as it preceded the tiling of the utility room and subsequent construction of the back-door casita. Unluckily it is a through-lock which meant the lock didn't work with a key inserted from outside. I was musing on the sort of tools I might have that could help me get the piece of key out - note that I could still put the (bottom half) of the key in and turn it.
I then remembered I had bought a lock-picking kit a couple of years ago and it had been gathering dust in my desk. Nice slim flexible little spines of metal - much as you see on tv crime programs.
After some fruitless picking from the dodgy side, I managed to furkle one of the picks through from the "wrong" side and then to get the broken bits to move a few millimetres - thence trapped and extracted it with another pick. Oh Joy - mainly as I could now justify the meagre (€7) outlay on the picks as G "occasionally" asked what I intended to do with that wasteful and unused purchase.
Today I completed the scenario by getting a new key cut. €2.50. A multiplicity of happy and cost-effective outcomes - especially as the locksmith was charging €75 for a callout when we last had to use him about 18 years ago.
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