Hoorah, hoorah, we are one step closer to the kitchen being done. I've spoken to a couple of references for Andy the Builder (cue Bob the Builder style theme music), both very happy with him, no problems, both made a point of saying he always cleared everything up well after himself - obviously a point of contention with builders! Anyway, that reinforces my impressions of him as a really nice guy, competent and reliable. So. The next step will be to have the CORGI plumber (registered to deal with gas) come around and have a look at the boiler, make sure we can do what we want to and let everyone know how long it will take to do the plumbing bit. And we can go from there. I foresee lots of trips to Ikea and time spent online or on the phone with suppliers, but at least we will have a lovely kitchen at the end of it. Fingers crossed. I'll keep everyone posted.

And the weather is glorious, too. What more could anyone want?