Appliance Suicide

Our kitchen appliances are all dying, one by one. I am beginning to wonder if we have a gremlin! Or maybe they're complaining of overwork?

First, the fan in the fan oven is temperamental. It seems to only turn on when the oven temp reaches 'hot enough' (whatever that is, I don't know. I have just learned to turn it on and eventually the fan will kick in). We do have plans to replace the oven, but seeing as I am lazy I haven't done it yet. Bad idea to wait until it dies entirely? Probably, but hey...

May be definitely a bad idea, since our microwave seems to be giving up the ghost. When I say 'giving up' I mean, 'has given up and is just faking it'. It looks fine (no burn marks, no funny smells) it looks like it's working (turns, light on, makes noise) but nothing heats up. Hmmm.... Time to get a new microwave? Probably, but have you seen the price of microwaves these days? Yow! Beginning to wonder about calling a repair-man.

Which is exactly what we had to do for the washing machine last Thursday, when after acting wierd (stopping mid wash and not spinning) and being forced to spin a load of clothes that seemed clean, just sopping wet it started moaning loudly, followed by a burning smell... EEEK! Pull out from under shelf! Unplug! Unplug! Luckily we have this little beauty insured. We bought it when Pip was a wee baby and so it's now about 8 yrs old. It has had its drum changed, and its bearings changed already, so the insurance is worth it (also cheaper and more environmentally responsible than buying a new one). They sent out a nice man on Monday and he fixed it in 24 mins!!!! Apparently the motor had gone (hence the lack of spin) and in doing this it fried the control panel (behind the buttons) and the door lock mechanism (hence the burning smell). But lickety split it was all replaced and good as new...

Jubilation all 'round! Clean knickers once again! (tmi?)

So anyway, now considering the cost of calling a repair-man for the micro (surely less than buying a new one?) and which will be the best new oven for us... Our current (ancient - came with the house) model has the controls up high, against the wall above a 'back-splash' sort of thingy. Which means that little fingers can't fiddle. These days they seem to be built with all the controls just at the eye height of a 3 yr old... Brilliant design. Ho hum. Also want a A-rated one for energy efficiency. Which narrows the field.

Anyone (in the UK) have any recommendations for ovens?