Dear Plumber
Last Thursday morning I left the house as usual to get a bit of shopping in and noticed that the overflow pipe from the cold water cistern in the loft was pouring with water which was falling onto the flat roof of the porch and making a hell of a racket. I ran inside to fetch my husband but he was nowhere to be found. Eventually I spotted his sillhouette through the shed window and ran out to alert him to the problem.
The sight that greeted me shook me to the very core of my being and I'll never forget it as long as I live. My husband was completely naked, except for a studded leather posing pouch, stockings and suspenders and a pair of thigh length rubber fisherman's waders. On his face he was wearing an old gasmask that my mum had kept back from the war and I could see the respirator pulsing as he breathed in and out.
It was then that I noticed he had a noose fastened around his neck which he'd lashed to a roof beam, and that his feet were barely touching the ground. Even though he had his back to me it was obvious by his vigorous shoulder movements and cries of pleasure that he was abusing himself.
Dear Plumber
Dear Elaine
I know things may seem pretty bleak right now, and it's small wonder you feel as desperate and low as you do, but things are never as bad as they seem and it's always darkest just before the dawn.
It sounds very much to me as if the ball valve that supplies the cold water cistern has a worn diaphram and needs replacing. These are easily available from a plumbing supplies store or DIY stockist and retail at around £10.00 or so.
Simply shut off the supply at the rising main, remove the old valve by undoing the retaining locknut on the valve body and also the union connection on the feed pipe. Remove the old assembly and reverse the procedure to fit the new one. Adjust the ball valve arm to give you the tank water level you require and you should be trouble free for a good few years to come.
If you have any further problems please dont hesitate to call one of our freephone helplines:
0897 3456 - Compression Or Capilliary Joint? / Love Is Too Painful
0897 3457 - Fitting A New Hot Water Cylinder / Feminine Freshness Concerns
0899 3458 - Replacing A Leaking Stopcock / Addicted To Porn
0891 3459 - Lagging Exposed Pipework / Cross Dressing Hell
0892 3510 - Pipe Bending Made Easy / Sickened By Oral
0895 3789 - Turning Off A Rising Main / I'm Too Tiny For Love
I could barely contain my horror and disgust and ran back into the house where I vomited repeatedly into the sink. Fortunately he couldn't have noticed me watching him, as he came in around 20 minutes later in excellent spirits and asked me if I'd seen the cat.
Since this terrible day I've barely been able to function. My work is suffering and the doctor has put me on a number of powerful anti depressants which leave me feeling washed out and terribly low. Things have now reached a point where I cant look at him without retching violently and have found my thoughts constantly turning towards taking my own life in order that I may find some kind of respite from this living hell. Please, please help me if you can as I just don't know which way to turn.
Elaine Turnbull
Upton Park E13
As a jobbing plumber of over 30 years standing, it will come as no surprise when I tell you that I'm regularly inundated with requests from despairing members of the public who need a sympathetic ear and some sound advice when dealing with their emotional, marital and sexual issues. Only last week I received the following communication from a distressed woman, who was quite clearly at the end of her tether and just needed the type of calming advice and steady hand on the emotional tiller that only a fully qualified Corgi registered plumber can supply.
