Finally, the big day came, September 19^th 2019.   The sun shone brightly and Mike (aka Man With Van, plus mate) came to load up with our few belongings and bits of furniture…..one single garage full!  We drove on ahead to Devon expecting to find the house empty as the vendors had told us the week previously that they would be out by the night before.  As we turned into the drive we were greeted by a number of removal men still loading the van, the vendors pottering around and their stressed cleaner losing the battle to clean up behind furniture which hadn’t been moved for over twenty years.  This was Thursday and they had been loading the van since Monday! They had managed to clear most things from the house, but the garage & sheds were still full.

The previous owners, who are in their late eighties, were very apologetic that they hadn’t moved out in time and sadly admitted that as they removed one of their massive wardrobes from the bedroom a large piece of wallpaper peeled itself off the wall.  It did look bad, but we saw the funny side as we didn’t like it anyway and it wasn’t too difficult to stick it back up again temporarily.

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Neil asked their removal men to shift the Luton van they were using to shuttle stuff from the house to the much larger lorry parked in a wider street nearby so our men could move their Luton van in to unload.  ‘How many vans have you got?’ he asked and was totally bemused when Neil said ‘one!’  The guy must have repeated his question three times before he finally accepted that we did have just ‘one!’

Amongst the chaos we got a visit from Alistair, the estate agent who sold the house to us, and he came with a lovely hamper full of local produce……a very nice touch.   We finally got their men out.  Our men in & out in less than an hour including a stop for tea & biscuits.  Their men back in to finish clearing the outbuildings and we got the vendors to stop hovering over us and focus on their remaining packing.  Finally a few hours later we were alone in our new home to start our unpacking…..phew!

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It wasn’t long before it was time to start the process of getting to know people.  We started with The Hat for a couple of beers.  It’s run by Gary, a South African, and it’s a quirky micropub located in an old butcher’s shop.  The original tiles are still on the wall and the seating is at shared high tables.  They serve local craft beers, ciders and a selection of gins.  They have a few snacks, and mobile phones should be on silent.  If you want to make a call you go outside.  Orders are taken at your table and you have a hand written tab.   We ended our first evening in of the two local Indian restaurants.  It wasn’t bad at all. We think we’re going to like this town but, hey, it’s TBL if we don’t!

The next few days were spent getting used to the new place and deciding where to put the few things we brought with us.  We knew the house was big, but without all the previous clutter we could see just how big it is, and what a contrast to the past ten years spending our summers living in a touring caravan.  The empty rooms looked sad with faded patches where pictures had hung for years and numerous wires hanging out where the wall lights had been taken out.

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Our second evening was spent with Glyn & Diane who are heavily involved in the town Twinning Association.  We met in the sunshine for a few drinks outside The Vaults, a pub overlooking the Esplanade, followed by dinner in the Malthouse, an independent Pub in the town.  We saw them again at the Twinning Association Quiz night the following week.  We’ve joined and hope to participate in the next visit to Thury Harcourt in Normandy which should take place in Spring 2020.

We had our first visitors at the weekend. Neil’s brother Bill and his wife Sue travelled from London and brought us some beautiful glasses as a house warming present.  The weather cleared up enough for a short walk along the esplanade and cliff gardens to see the view across the bay. We headed into town for a few drinks in The Hat followed by dinner in The Caper which serves Tapas from around the World.

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Towards the end of their visit we made more discoveries about the house.  Bill and Neil went up into the loft and came down with some very old mirrors which we think were the originals from the bathroom and bedrooms, maybe going back to the 1920’s and we’re going to try and restore them.  The second discovery was less welcome.  There was absolutely no loft insulation at all.  The previous owner had the wall cavities filled and part boarded the loft but bizarrely omitted the loft insulation!!  Luckily we found a great handyman and a few days later with a few trips to Homebase and a delivery from B&Q we were deboarded and fully insulated to the current recommended level of 270mm, which is pretty thick. Neil was absolutely knackered from all the trips up and down the stairs carrying bales of insulation up and sheets of flooring down.

Week two was focused on getting jobs done – gutters cleaned, dusk to dawn light switch fitted for porch and driveway lights, electrics safety check and LED bulbs installed.  Do the remaining changes of address which only allow you to do once you have moved.  Opening a joint bank account for the bills, signing up with utilities, council tax and setting up all the direct debits done.  Meeting the neighbours and discovering no one else is from Devon! Participating in Fiverfest where the local independent shops had great special offers for a fiver all over town to encourage every adult to spend a fiver a week.

We got to know the gardener, Mark, and decided to keep him on over the Winter to keep the garden under control while we are away.  We had the local building firm in to discuss options for remodeling & getting scale drawings done so we can decide exactly what is possible and we want to do.  We met a kitchen fitter and got some initial designs done so we can start planning & budgeting.  We managed to get some plumbers in to quote for replacing the 20+ year old boiler with a more efficient one.  Lastly, a couple of assessments from a tree surgeon as a few of the trees have become way too big and need to be cut back or taken out completely.  Fortunately, all were assessed as being OK to deal with when we get back in the Spring.

Glyn & Diane very kindly agreed to look in on the house while we are away and met us on Friday to have a look around and get a set of keys.  We went for an excellent meal in the local steakhouse, The Shed, followed by drinks in The Clarence which had pretty good live music.

Week three was a little calmer and gave us more time to get to know the house and think about how we would like to change it.  We do want it to have a more open plan feel and to tone down the décor whilst being sympathetic to the 1928 character of the building.  The vendors did leave an enticing bundle of original deeds and documents which we haven’t had time to look through and we’re looking forward to discovering its history and its previous owners. 

Alex & Freddy managed a quick visit during our last weekend.  We had a long walk around the town, along the esplanade to Axmouth Harbour and back ending with tea, cakes & a Vietnamese coffee in The Hideaway Café overlooking the beach. Drinks in The Hat followed by dinner in The Caper on Saturday night. We took the stunning coastal walk from Seaton to Beer on Sunday and enjoyed a cream tea in the late September sunshine on the beach.

Our last week and a surprise visit from John & Yvonne, friends we met in Goa.  They had booked a glass blowing course in Beer and suggested we meet up for dinner.  Another evening of drinks in The Hat followed by dinner in The Malthouse.  A great evening and a good chance to catch up before we meet again in Goa.

Our last evening in Seaton was spent with Glyn & Diane, starting with, yes you guessed it, drinks in The Hat.  We ate in the other Indian, Monsoon which is BYO, and had better food than the other one in town.  It felt really sad to say goodbye to Glyn & Diane. Thanks both for welcoming us to Seaton and helping us settle in.

Saturday morning and it was time to pack our bags & get the house ready for the winter.  Our three weeks went by in a flash and we didn’t want to leave.  Seaton is a lovely place, its sleepy and the pace of life is slow, but everyone seems friendly.  We’re looking forward to the usual fun in Goa, but we’re also looking forward to going back to the house and making it our home.

The journey to Goa always starts with saying goodbyes to friends and family.  We spent a couple of nights in Bristol with Paul, Miranda and number one grandson.  He’s pretty stable on his feet now and such a happy little soul.  We will miss him a lot while we are away and look forward to photos and videos from his proud parents while we are away.

Next stop Gloucester for two nights with Roy & June.  June is recovering from a knee replacement and gradually improved while we were staying.  We hope to see her running around by the time we get back!

On to London by train where we had dinner with Leanne & Neil on our first night.  We stayed with Alex & Freddy and on the Friday attended a very special ceremony in the Guildhall.  Alex was granted Freedom of the City of London and is now entitled to drive his sheep across London Bridge! He was invited to become a member of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists a couple of years ago and this was the formal ceremony to make him a Freeman. We had an interesting and informative  talk on the history of Freemen (and women) and were shown certificates and signatures of many previous and current holders.  Next stop was to the pub with friends to celebrate followed by excellent food in their local Italian restaurant. 

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It was soon time to head to Heathrow for our flight to Goa via Mumbai.  We wonder if Benaulim has seen any changes this year?

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