19th May 2018 – Yet another stove

We head out from the B & B at 7h30 and again the weather is cold this time with an icy wind. The farm is again outside Kroonstad ,but this time the stove is a 2 oven Esse Fairy – nothing but hard work lies ahead. Esse stoves of the age these are are really fiddly to work on.

As usual, the kitchen is a fair way from where we can get to with the bakkie and trailer, so we go inside to see exactly what we need to collect for the job and begin carting it inside….no matter how hard we try, we somehow spend a lot of time running backwards and forwards for bits and pieces that we haven’t anticipated.

As usual at the time of life this Esse is at – around 60 years old – she shows signs of wear and tear. All the bricks in the firebox have to be removed and replaced. The part into which the heat accumulator fits has cracked and has to be repaired – to get this out is a real feat, but out it comes – 7 drill bits later – and onto the next job. All items are wire brushed, cleaned up, repainted where necessary and replaced.

Chimney is checked for draw and thank goodness this one is clean and our clients were wonderful – welcomes cups of tea and some delicious rusks!

Unfortunately on the way out – after the usual packup and wrap in plastic scenario – last minute tool check and general cleanup inside the bakkie – we took a wrong turn and it took us over an hour to get back to the B & B.

By the time we got there there was just enough time to dish up our food, heat it, eat it and all of us collapsed in a heap to get ready for the next day.