Today, I witnessed the most unorthodox piece of furniture removal ever .....

5 men, two of whom pensioners, and nearly half a ton of Hot Tub being removed from a trailer and sited in a yard.

Doesn't sound too difficult does it?

Oh - until I mention that the yard is reached down a narrow path with a wall at the start which has a small doorway in it ....

These five men heaved, groaned and split their bunions levering this monumental beast of a thing EIGHT FEET in the air to get it onto a flat corrugated roof (which then dipped and heaved beneath the weight) - it was at that moment that Zack and I arrived, sat down, and quickly drank a large glass of Cava to calm nerves (that was Zack obviously... )....

Sitting with the "girls" while the boys sweated their bits off, over the next hour they erected a makeshift scaffold in the alleyway path bit with the intention of "gently lowering" the hottub - at this point upright, onto it's side (god knows how many cables mere milimetres away from said beastie) ... while my eyes Tom and Jerry'd on springs !!

It was horrific to watch - at any moment one slip could have snapped a spine in two as men used their entire bodies to cushion this monstrous arrival's descent from the top of the shed down onto two carefully positioned planks. It was a sheer miracle to me that no harm was done to the tub, let alone these brave (or feckless) heroes.

And once they did have it on the scaffold, some 3 feet off the floor, we then watched as they inched it down a makeshift ramp of planks that looked about as strong as straws (mind you straws can, allegedly, break camels' backs so .......).

An hour and a half and buckets of sweat and "f" words later, the beastie was on the ground - at which point they had to somehow hoist it a foot up onto a plinth - it's final resting place.

Huge long steel bars, leverage and sweat and another 10 mins later it was in place.....

And then they realised - the point where the cables needed to be attached was round the back .....