I STRETCH my foot across the shower curtain with more than a little trepidation.

I know that as soon as the icy cascade hits my body, it will unleash unimaginable pain - like a thousand of the sharpest knives piercing into my flesh at once, or being forced to listen to the Gareth Gates single all the way through.

It does and I instantly recoil, almost slipping in the process, cracking my head against the 'marine-life' tiles. I swear the picture of the dolphin is laughing at me.

This has been something of a daily ritual for more than a month now. It started off when the shower would throw out a burst of cold water mid-shampoo and leave me bawling at the Long Suffering Marjorie thinking she had turned on a tap somewhere.

Then it progressed to the point where hot water was quickly followed by cold, then by hot.

Getting into the shower was like a game of chance - "hot or cold, cold or hot, turn on the taps and see what you've got".

It was annoying yet still bearable. The changes were so frequent that you didn't have time to freeze completely. As soon as the shock was about to set in, the hot water was there to wash all the troubles away and thaw you out.

The eternal optimist in me refused to acknowledge that the problem would not sort itself out, thus not requiring me to lift a finger contacting landlords/plumbers etc.

This rose-tinted view has not been helped by the rare occasions when the shower would actually burst into life and hot water would flow again.

As it stands no hot water emanates from my shower. Not a drop.

Although (inexplicably) hot water still comes through the taps - actually it's tepid - I simply don't have the time to run a bath in the mornings.

I can't nip round to a friend's or neighbour's house either because I don't have any (friends that is. I have neighbours but I don't know them enough to knock on the door sporting just a towel and a shower cap. In fact I don't know them at all).

I've put the wheels in motion to fix the problem (a plumber was due to come out today) but knowing my luck, it will be something that will take weeks rather than days.

Until that time I will have to grin and bear it while I bare it.