Tooled up.

Sometimes things happen for a reason. I was standing in the bathroom brushing my teeth, warbling 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain' between rinses this morning, when my elderly two-bar wall heater decided it was time to end it all by leaping from its mounting and plunging to the cold hard lino floor below. (I think it must have had a screw loose).

I immediately ensured that none of my limbs were missing and that I still had a pulse. Fortunately, no self-administered precordial thump was required. Next came a cup of tea and a lie down.

Then, in an unexpected and momentary channelling of Lara Croft, I decided to replace the fallen heater with a new one myself. I've largely avoided drills, thinking them loud, heavy, mess-creating and quite possibly dangerous but on the other hand, the calling in of a tradesman or handyman is never an appealing thought. Sometimes you just don't feel like putting up with someone who sniggers at what they consider too minor a job and then charges like a wounded bull.

A 4 'mil' bit, two self-tapping screws and an enthusiastic, if off-key, rendition of 'Spice Up Your Life' later and ta-da! New wall heater! And do you know, using the drill was somehow strangely empowering. There was a wall and whether it liked it or not it was going to have a hole in it. Feng Shui can only do so much when what you really need in your life is some gutsy, fire in the belly, drill-till-you-drop demolition.

In fact, an urgent scan of the latest junk mail catalogue suggested that zimbles could successfully own and use any number of tools: a laser guided 550W jigsaw, a 110 litre GMC one-half horse power cement mixer, a 115 mm 860 W angle grinder! There's a whole world of power out there just waiting to be discovered.

Indeed, who needs a Husquvarna when there's a Red-Roo 'SG350-2' 200 kg 16 hp manual stump grinder to be had!