So I’ve Been Learning To Drive...

I've been having driving lessons off and on for the last few years and up until recently I've not had all that much success, however, about 4 months ago I got a new instructor and since then I feel like I've been making some really good progress, everything is starting to feel more natural, I'm making less mistakes and I'm even starting to feel confident when I'm on the road, a total lack of confidence being one of the main reasons that I've put off learning to drive for so long. That was up until Monday morning when I received a message from my driving instructor saying that he was going to have to cancel all lessons for the foreseeable future due to a medical issue and, whilst I do genuinely hope that he's ok and gets well soon, I'm now a little worried about what this means for me and the progress I've made. Learning to drive for me has been a long, expensive slog, I'm currently on my 8th driving instructor in 3 years and with most of them I feel like I ended up spending a small fortune, but having absolutely nothing to show for it. I'm not saying that they were bad instructors, though 1 of them had to stop teaching altogether after failing his ADI standards check, another was such a dick that I couldn't understand how he managed to retain any customers and another just stopped showing up after 4 lessons, just that for whatever reason I either couldn't get on with them on a personal level or that their teaching style just didn't work for me and I felt like I wasn't actually learning anything. Essentially it's taken me 3 years to find an instructor that I can get on with and who's teaching methods have enabled me to make any real progress. I don’t want to sit and wait for him to be back on his feet and start teaching again because that may never happen, he’s coming up to retirement age, he only works part time and he’s doing it more to stay active, and to physically get out of the house, than because actually needs the income. I don’t want to stop making progress, but my worry is that it's going to take me a long time, and who knows how much money wasted, to find another instructor that I get on with and, when I finally do, I'll be so out of practice that I end up having to start from scratch all over again.

Not Exactly An Update

It’s been over a month since my last update on the progress being made with the rebuild of our building and there’s one simple reason for this, there has been none. The building is almost exactly as it was a month ago, no one’s been on site, we’ve not heard from the insurance company and whenever we call them they’re not helpful.

Still No News

Another week has passed and there’s still been absolutely no news about the out building. Essentially we're sure that we’ve lost all of the tools, all of the timber and all of the stuff being stored in there, we’re certain the insurance company aren’t going to replace any of it but, whilst it’s a huge loss that we can’t really afford to absorb, it’s not our main concern. What we really need to know, and what we’re really concerned about, is if or when the insurance company are going to help us with the building its self, the longer it stands without any work being done to it the greater the risk of collapse and if it collapses it’s likely to take the other building attached to it down with it.

It's Not Looking Good

It’s now been two weeks since the fire and a week since the second set of fire and forensic investigators visited the wreckage. We’re still no further forward, we’ve heard absolutely nothing more from our insurance company and it’s starting to look like we’re going to be footing the bill ourselves. If that’s the case we’re in a real mess, we simply can’t afford what it’s going to cost to clear the ground and that’s before we’ve even thought about the re-building process.

No Progress

I know it’s only been a week, but, since the fence went up there’s been absolutely no progress made on clearing the rubble or even on securing the site. To top that off it’s starting to look like the insurance company are going to try and get out of helping us. We’ve heard absolutely nothing from them until this morning and all we’ve heard today is that they’re now sending a second fire investigator and a second forensic investigator over to check out the wreckage. Basically the insurance company didn’t like the opinions of the first two, independent, guys they sent over so they’re sending over guys from their in-house teams.

The Rebuilding Process

After a stressful few days the structural engineer, fire investigator, forensic investigator and insurance loss adjuster have all been. Checks, investigations, interviews and reports have all been done, in some cases several times. Thankfully no reason to deny our claim has been found and the insurance company has given the builders the go ahead to come in, make the site safe and start clearing the rubble.

The builders arrived first thing this morning to fence the site off and make a start on the gable ends, hopefully by the time I get home from work some progress will have been made and I'll be able to take some photos.

Nothing But The Shell Remains

The fire crews have been and gone, the wreckage is cooled and starting to dry out. It's now much easier and safer to get in close and see the damage, so here's a few better shots of what remains.

If It Wasn't For Bad Luck I'd Have No Luck At All

What an amazing start to the week, woken by the smell of smoke to find the garage and work shop entirely engulfed in flames and then getting to witness it collapsing, crushing the greenhouse and anything else in it’s path to shards. Thousands of pounds of tools, camping equipment, motorbike, stored furniture and greenhouse reduced to a smouldering pile of ash and rubble in no time. Thankfully no one was hurt and the fire crews arrived in time to stop it spreading to any of the surrounding buildings, including the house.