A couple of weeks ago, our “Hausverwaltung” – Schön & Sever – forgot to tell us that we would have no water for over half a day, starting in the early morning and lasting till the early afternoon. They did not reply to our questions when we discovered it, nor did they bother to let us know how long it would last. I don’t go in for bottled water normally, so I don’t have a stock in the house, but if I had known, I would have made sure I had some for my dog and myself to drink, to make coffee, and to at least be able to brush my teeth in the morning.

Today, our lift will be out of order till about noon tomorrow. This is not due to an emergency but part of a major overhaul which has been in the planning for a while. The people who have arrived to do the work told me that. Not Schön & Sever. Admittedly, it will do both Max and me good to walk up and down the stairs the five to seven times it will be necessary over the next 30 hours. But if I had known that, I would not have set aside part of today to do my weekly supermarket round, and I would not have booked the mobile vet for noon today if I had known they would have to schlepp themselves and their gear up the stairs to the sixth floor. Not to mention my trusty cleaning help who always brings much of his own gear in a trolley. The janitor was here yesterday. Would it have killed them to make sure he put up a note about this then?

Is it just me ……?