Further to the above.
We had been getting a bit low on oil and then the Beast from the East cold event happened. Due to excessive central heating we were then worryingly low. I rang my usual supplier but they were unable to quote their normally pretty prompt delivery date and even gloomily suggested I should ring around the other suppliers. I eventually found someone who gauranted 7 days. Worry.
Bad news: Because I didn't have an account, they wanted payment up front. 1000 litres at 49.5p plus 5% vat. They delivered yesterday after 9 days, sparrow fart on the day I had decided I would have to switch off the boiler and face the wrath of Mrs B.
Good news: Seems I got it right. Just been talking to a chap who says they are now quoting 60p + vat! And 2 weeks delivery! (And round here 2 weeks means more than two weeks)
Phew.
Blimey, hadn't realised it had gone up that much! This directly relates to my BN/GN.
BN Outgoing residents leave a pathetic amount of oil in the tank
GN Pickstocks can deliver same day, which they attempted to do, to find
BN a) the tank lid locked, and b) me 10 miles away at the estate agents attempting to pick up the keys for the house.
GN, they are happy to come back later that day, or the next morning, as desired.
BN (almost two months and several snowings in later) There is an old steel central heating oil tank in the barn, which is in the way of my planned workshop
BN, it is incredibly heavy and I cannot move it, why?
GN, Erm, that'll be because it has about 250 litres of perfectly good central heating oil in it!
BN spent an entire day draining it, checking it for water, and transferring it to the new plastic tank which is actually in commission (installed a year ago by the hard to remove previous owners).
GN smugness when I see the level gauge (clever remote thingy) has gone right back up to the top of the scale
GN This goes well with the fact that the solar PV seems to be keeping the electricity meter going backwards nearly as much as it ever goes forwards
GN our wood burning stove is happy living partly on a diet of used pallets, and most of the delivery trucks visiting our house seem to have a spare pallet or two in the back that they're happy to get rid of.
BN How the hell do Powys CC claim this 3 bed bungalow is a band F? All the references I've found say its an E, which is horrifying enough, but F, its not a bloody palace!