No sooner had we published the February blog we were contacted by Carl who is going to do the serious structural work.  We can start next Monday!!!  Yes, oh yes, that’s serious progress at last.  We were excited and apprehensive as this was the start of living in a construction site with all the dust, noise and mess that goes with it.  Still, it’ll only be for a short while we thought………

You will all know by now why we thought wrong, and we won’t dwell on it here.  Suffice to say that we hope you are all keeping well and safe during these exceptional times.  Maybe some non Covid news will be a welcome escape.  Read on to see what we got up to in the most  extraordinary month we have experienced.

Before we could get the walls down we had to get the major plumbing work finished.  Matt arrived and swiftly removed the old boiler and that meant no heating and hot water for a week while the new boiler and radiators were fitted.  Of course we chose a really chilly week but managed well with the log burner in the study.  Our new boiler aka ‘big boy’ is great and the house is significantly warmer where the newer bigger radiators have been fitted.  We’re still a few short as these can’t be hung until the wall reconstruction is done.  Matt worked so hard and found the existing plumbing in the house something of a challenge.  Cheryl escaped to the Gym and after almost a week without a boiler Neil stayed in the shower for days! 

The garden is bursting into life and so is Phileas.  We spotted a hen perched on the fence and soon saw Phileas trying his best to impress her strutting his stuff and doing his sexy dance but unfortunately we don’t think he was successful as she hasn’t been seen since. 

The first weekend of March brings a major event to Seaton.  It’s Grizzly by name and Grizzly by nature. The 20 mile Grizzly and the 9 mile Cub races present tough challenges over a multi-terrain route including bogs, streams, pebble beaches, clifftops and ascents/descents up/down steep hills.  We took part in the fundraising quiz at the Gateway on the Friday, and our team won – yay! We’re not quite up to taking part but did our bit to support the runners by watching and cheering the start and finish on the esplanade.  Sadly, but not surprisingly, there were a number of casualties as the weather both before and during was horrid.

Progress at last

It didn’t take long to prepare for the builders.  We quickly moved what was left of the kitchen into the study, along with a small table & chairs and sofa.  It was a little cramped but a lot more space than we used to have in the caravan.  All furniture, apart from the sofas, was cleared from the living room and the carpet was carefully peeled back and placed over the top to cover them up.  The dining room was also cleared just leaving the glass top tables stacked in the corner.  Not having very much in the way of furniture and the usual household clutter was turning out to be a real bonus.

We were under no illusion about the potential dust & mess but the wonderful crew who arrived were incredibly conscientious about keeping the mess and noise to a minimum.  They put up plastic sheeting and gaffer taped the door frames leading to the hallway which was really effective.  The last day included the final removal of walls for double doors into the hallway so on that day we found ourselves sealed in with a taped door for a few hours.  We had one mishap when the guys sliced through a pipe hidden in the wall and our walls turned out to be a little more complicated than they had thought so the 3 to 4 day job turned into 6 and straddled a weekend.  We got used to living in our one room during the day with a good long walk along the beach to keep us from going stir crazy.  Looking back, it was good training for what was going to come.

Neil’s sister June and husband Roy had planned a visit to us for the weekend of 21^st March and we had booked tickets for a 60s & 70s band, The Zoots, at the Gateway.  The building work was starting to overrun and with no kitchen and the extent of the mess and dust we were starting to have second thoughts as to whether we should postpone.  People were starting to talk about what was happening in Italy and Spain and the news was filling up with cases of Corona Virus in the UK.  Normal life was still continuing and Cheryl met up with Diane for a film & picnic night at the Gateway to watch The Personal Life of David Copperfield on Friday 14^th March.  On Monday 16^th Boris Johnson advised against non-essential travel and suggested people should not go to pubs, theatres and restaurants.  There was also a suggestion that those over 70 would be asked to stay at home.

The builders finished work on Tuesday 17^th and we finally could see the full extent of the destruction.  The result was worth the dust and mess.  The space has been opened up, the light level in the kitchen has vastly improved and we can see the beautiful garden from every angle.  Wow – it’s still a long, long way from being finished with exposed brick and broken plaster and cables hanging out of the walls but to us it looked wonderful and we were so excited to get things started.

Next day the scaffold for fixing the leaky chimneys arrived and we soon had two large erections either side of the house (oooer missus!). 

To make the most of the cost of the scaffolding, which stays in place for a minimum of 4 weeks, we got a quote to drop a flue lining into the living room chimney for a log burner (to be installed next year) and to put in a flue for the existing burner in the study.   Ah, nearly forgot that the original fireplace had been bricked up and diverted when the previous owners shifted it. Just managed to get another builder lined up to deal with it and went ahead with the deposit for the flues so they could start work two weeks into the scaffold hire.  First of all the chimneys had to be cleaned, repointed and painted with ‘Storm Dry’ a freakishly expensive waterproof coating used on lighthouses and guaranteed for 25 years.  Work on that was starting on Monday 23^rd March.   Everything was starting to come together at a really good pace.

Wednesday 18^th March and the Gateway announced that the events planned for the weekend had been postponed.  We had a phone call with June & Roy and decided that we should postpone their visit until later in the year.  We realise now that was definitely the right thing to do.

Friday 20^th March Jules from Howdens came round to check measure the kitchen following the work to remove the dividing wall and lose the arch wall.  We talked about putting in some display units either side of the dining room double doors and checked lengths of worktop & upstand as these were being ordered from a separate source.  Just needed the kitchen fitter to confirm the depths required and all that could be ordered with a lead time of 10-14 days.  That left getting the walls finished off and we were good to go.

At 5pm that same day Boris Johnson ordered all bars and restaurants to close at midnight. Things were beginning to change but the enormity of what we were facing was still not sinking in.

First thing Monday morning Dacks & Sons turned up to start work on the chimneys and we tackled stripping wallpaper from what remained of the kitchen walls to get the finishing off underway.  The worktop order was placed and we thought about getting the Howdens order set up but decided to wait for the revised quote to include the additional units.

Monday 23^rd March at 8pm normal life in the UK came to an abrupt halt

Our house is in a mess but it doesn’t matter.  We were getting close to having a proper kitchen but that’s not going to happen in the foreseeable future.  The worktop factory has closed and Howdens has shut down.  However, we had the oven & hob delivered.  The chippy started work on constructing door frames and the electrician also arrived to do the first fix.  The builder lined up to remove the bricks from the fireplace called off.  The chimney repair is on hold as the company has decided to stop work.  The scaffold firm have suspended all work and have assured us the scaffold will stay in place as long as we need to complete the work.  We had just paid £1000 deposit for the chimney flues and were amazed when the stove company returned it immediately. We also think we are probably the last people in the country to have our phone line reactivated so we now have broadband which we think we are really going to need in the coming months.

The first week has been interesting.  It’s funny how you get used to things after a while.  The first days of not being able to go out unless it’s for food or exercise felt really strange.  People are getting better at social distancing and Tesco’s has calmed down a little.  We may moan about the hold up to our renovations but we are well aware that we are truly fortunate.  We are so lucky to live in a beautiful part of the country in a small town beside the sea.  We have plenty of space in our house, garden and in the town, especially the glorious expanse of beach and sea.  On top of that the sun has been shining for almost a week non-stop.  We realise life has not been easy for a lot of people and have nothing but admiration for all those working in the NHS and all key workers who are keeping things going for all of us.

Well what a month this has been.  We were really excited about posting this blog two weeks ago as we wanted to share the progress on the house.  Now as we write it all seems so unimportant and trivial in the midst of what we face now.  That said, we have seen a number of positives emerge as people seem to be communicating from afar with more frequency than before.

To cap it all Gary at The Hat is doing his best to stay afloat.  He’s offering a home delivery service of his finest beers and ciders.  Needless to say we are going to do our best to help him stay in business and to be there for us when this whole mess is finished.  We also vowed to have 2 takeaways a week to help the restaurants to get over the crisis.  Many started to offer but new restrictions and regulations mean that there are only one or two offering home delivery. 

So, the world is totally stuffed, we’re living in a building site and it’s all going to get worse before it gets better.  However, we’re counting our blessings.  So far our family is fit and well, we have a large beautiful house to live in, the garden is blossoming, our friends stuck overseas are so far OK, we’re not self-isolating in a tiny rented flat in a big city and this morning we noticed that Phileas had a new girl-friend. 

Life goes on – just not as we know it!  Stay safe.

Do any of you remember Saturday Night at The London Palladium?  They nearly always had a variety act who would impress the audience by keeping multiple plates spinning on cane sticks.  The more plates he could spin before they fell off the more the audience clapped.  Well, that’s how we feel, spinning plates replaced by managing plasterers, plumbers, builders, sparkies, chippys etc etc etc…..phew!

Talking of variety acts, we went to the Cinderella Panto in Seaton…..oh yes we did!  It was a delightful evening and featured all the things you expect – ugly sisters to boo and hiss at, obviously two men in drag, cheesy slapstick routines, lots of kids singing and dancing and some great performances from the enthusiastic local cast.  The show was hardly likely to make The West End but it was great to see average looking people, in all sorts of shapes and sizes plus lots of small children strutting their stuff.  To be fair, one or two were pretty damned good.

We also went up to Gloucester to have a lunch with Neil’s siblings.  As it was about 2hrs drive we multi tasked and hired a van so we could swing by Bradley Stoke and collect the remaining bits of furniture cleared out from Cheryl’s house and flat.  It was a long day but lovely to see June, Roy, Bill, Sue and Bob.  The M5 was kind to us and we managed to get back in time to unload the van and return it that afternoon.

We also had a visit from Leanne and ‘middle aged’ Neil.  Yup, they have a new friend who is now ‘young Neil’ meaning that Leanne’s Neil has been elevated to ‘middle aged Neil’. We knew they were arriving late on the Friday evening, which was the same day as our trip to Gloucester.  We started to worry when it got much later and they didn’t arrive. 

Oops! We had the phones switched to silent night time mode and managed not to hear them knocking at the front door.  They had instructions to let themselves in just in case we were late back from getting the furniture and found the key from the key box but couldn’t get it in the back door as our key was in from the other side.  When we finally thought about checking for messages we found they had gone to find a pub to wait in until we got back.  At least they did us a favour as the pub they found turned out to be a bit of a dud and saves us the bother of checking it out.

It was great to see them and to show them the ‘before’ house as well as some of our plans.  We also had a lovely night out starting with a drink in the Hat and followed by excellent tapas in The Wild Caper.

Phileas is still a regular visitor to the garden. There was quite a racket one day and we watched a turf war going on……luckily Phileas won! ……well we think it was Phileas as it’s quite difficult to tell them apart.

Getting plastered

Our bedroom had an unusual feature of narrow shelves hidden behind ‘secret’ doors which had been covered with wallpaper.  This explained why the previous occupants had placed two enormous wardrobes slap bang in the middle of the wall.  Regular readers will remember this was where we were left with wallpaper hanging off when they took the wardrobes away.

We thought about exposing the shelves and decided to strip off all the damaged wallpaper to see how we could make a feature of them.  We then discovered the house originally had picture rails which sadly were all stripped out.  The plaster on the wall wasn’t in great condition and we finally decided that the size and position of the alcoves was making it impossible to have a sensible layout of bedroom furniture.  They had to go, and we needed a plasterer to cover them up and re-plaster the wall. 

Quite some time passed with several attempts to get plasterers to turn up and quote.  In desperation we searched again and found Pawel the Plasterer who gave us a good price and was available – hurrah!

We had also lined up a guy who can spray paint rooms and decided to give this a try as it can be effective covering over existing wallpaper.  Every wall in the house is papered so if we can avoid the work involved in stripping and remove any risk of pulling off plaster in the process…..winner all around!   We had been prepared to do the decorating ourselves but if the spray man can get it done as fast as he says, and at £120/day, then it’s not worth us getting the rollers dirty.  We got him booked in the start the week after the plasterer and felt pretty pleased that at last we were finally getting somewhere.

Pawel did a great job with the wall and a few days later it had dried out to a pale pink.  We cleared everything out of the bedroom and moved into the spare bedroom.  The day before the painter was due Cheryl glanced up at the wall which had developed a strange dark patch at the top which looked a bit damp – bugger, yet another step backwards!

This was the weekend of Storm Dennis and whilst Seaton escaped the worst of the weather, the combination of wind and constant driving rain had resulted in water getting in around the chimney stack.  We looked carefully at the wall in the spare bedroom – and that too showed a damp patch which was less obvious on the wallpaper.

We cancelled the spray man and moved back into our bedroom.  We need to get scaffolding and work to repair the flashing and possibly repoint both chimneys – another potentially huge unforeseen expense.  Scaffolding will cost around £1500 and as I write we are still waiting for quotes for the repairs.  To say we were a bit pissed off is a massive understatement, especially as we felt that we were getting close to having one finished room.  It’s also another piece of work that will need to join the plate spinning as once the scaffold is up it stays for weeks and will block the driveway so no other workmen can get their vehicles in.

Always look on the bright side

On a more positive note, we have had some progress.  The engineer completed his calculations and sent us some complex drawings which we didn’t really understand.  We were advised by the building firm that although none of our alterations need planning permission, we would need to raise a building control notice as the local council will need to sign off any structural work.  A straightforward online process but an upfront cost of £470, and hopefully that will be enough to cover all the site visits we need.

A week later the head of the building firm returned to mark up walls and calculate final costs for steels and lintels.  He also suggested he may be able to carry out the work in a few weeks time – fingers crossed on that one.

With the possibility that work could start at any time we set about getting rid of the kitchen units we definitely wouldn’t be reusing in the workshop. We don’t like to put anything usable into landfill so thought we would have a go at giving them away but weren’t confident as although it’s a good quality John Lewis kitchen it is a bit dated. We needn’t have worried as just after placing a quick ad offering a range of old units ‘free to collector’ Cheryl’s phone didn’t stop buzzing. A few days later, and the units were gone.

We also took out the diagonal tiled false wall which was behind the AGA and discovered some interesting 1950’s wallpaper.  The kitchen is a bit of a mess but still functional for the time being.  We have to remove the remaining units and worktop on the big wall which is coming down but that will wait until just before the work starts.

The Heat is Off

A decision was finally made about the heating & water system following several changes of mind over whether to get a combi boiler or pressurized system.  We’ve gone for a combi storage boiler – a clever halfway house which should be sufficient to meet our everyday needs plus the few occasions when we have visitors. We don’t need an additional water tank which means we don’t have to give up space in the utility and the door into the greenhouse can stay.  All of which saves cost – just as well given the new found chimney problem. 

Even better we found Matt the plumber who was able to quote promptly and is available at the start of March. We can’t start the structural stuff until the plumbing is complete as it involves repositioning of some radiators so that’s a real bonus.  He also comes with another big bonus.  For the last few years he’s only worked 6 months of the year, preferring to spend 6 months travelling like we did.  So, in a nutshell, he’s not VAT registered……yay, 20% off!

The replacement of the boiler isn’t straightforward as Neil needs to rebuild part of the wall where it will hang.  The old boiler needs to go before this can happen so the installation work will take a few days and mean no heating and hot water until its done and it’s not that warm at the moment.  It’ll remind us both of when we were kids, waking up in the morning with ice on the insides of the windows because we didn’t have central heating.  Luckily the wood burner in the study works so we will have one cosy room even if we do start to pong a bit.

Maybe next month we will have some real progress to report……….

Our plan to return early was to be able to kick start the renovations to our new home, aka ‘Moneypit on Sea.’  However it’s difficult to plan things when you can’t do something until you’ve done something else, ‘chicken and egg’ comes to mind or ‘going round and round’ but not going anywhere. 

Before we got back we spent a few days catching up with Alex & Freddy in London and then spent Christmas with Neil’s sister June & family.  Boxing day included a chilly but enjoyable pony trek in The Forest of Dean followed by a family party back at June’s.  On our way to Devon we also met with Neil’s kids and number one grandson for lunch before driving South to finally arrive home.  

It’s the first festive season we’ve had with our family in more than 10 years so whilst the time was brief it was very special.  Thanks to all for taking us in over Christmas at such short notice.  It was great to watch the kids open their presents which is something we have really missed while being away.

Our lovely friends Glyn and Diane who have been keeping an eye on the house while we’ve been away, invited us to join them for dinner on New Year’s Eve in the local steakhouse.  We had a fabulous meal and then they surprised us by bringing a bottle of bubbly for us to crack open on the Esplanade while we watched the fireworks at midnight. For the last 10 years we’ve been on a beach, somewhere, for New Year so that’s a tradition which will continue albeit the fireworks here don’t come close to the zillions of pyrotechnics in Goa.

We spent New Year’s Day riding the Seaton Tramway.  Neil insisted we travelled on the open top deck in the drizzle to ‘enjoy’ the view.  It was lovely looking across the wetlands nature reserve but it was freezing cold so Cheryl insisted they sat inside on the return tram.  We followed that with helping Gary at The Hat use up the last of the beer in the barrel so that he could close down for his long holiday back home in South Africa in January.  It was a fun afternoon as various people popped in to have a beer and chat and after several drinks and snacks too many we meandered home.

Despite some extremely lively weather we’ve been out for a walk most days along the esplanade and up to the viewpoint past the harbour.  It’s a lovely walk and takes about an hour and a bit.  Each day brings a different aspect of the sea and the views depending on the weather. Early in January the rough sea conditions resulted in most of the pebble beach ending up on the esplanade. 

One of our concerns about moving to the coast was the possibility of a ghost town feeling in the winter.  We shouldn’t have worried as we’ve found that Seaton has a lot going on all year round.  There are several good restaurants, pubs and cafes.  Our local community venue, The Gateway, has regular film & picnic nights.  Seaton gets the big releases about a month after they’ve been on general release.  The hall has a stage and full sound system and flexible seating arrangements.  We’ve been to one film and a quiz night and have already booked for more as well as The Zoots for a live sixties & seventies music event in March.

Renovation update

Regular readers will recall that the purchase of the house in the summer dragged on and on, leaving us with about 3 weeks between moving in and setting off for Goa.  It was also back in September when it was a lot brighter and warmer.  We spent the first few days back in the house wondering why certain rooms didn’t seem to warm up and then discovered huge gaps here and there where the wind whistled through.  To be fair, it also had something to do with the fact that the boiler is 25-30 years old and is on our list to replace before it dies. Windows were taped, frames were siliconed, vents were sealed and Neil even used some spare carpet to cover the draughty letterbox. 

The previous owners sent us their annual energy consumption for gas and electricity during the sale process and we assumed the house was just expensive to heat because its old and big.  Turns out their bills were huge because they had no loft insulation, they ran a gas guzzling AGA and the house had more draughts than Wetherspoons.

Not only were the previous occupants happy to live in a cold draughty house we’ve also learnt that they were not well liked.  Several neighbours have had a run in with them over a number of things and we’ve even had a quote from somebody who also did work for them – ‘never again’ he said! I wonder what they are saying about us………..

We are making really slow progress on our plans for the house.  We keep going around in circles about kitchens, bedroom, carpets, knocking down walls and putting up walls.  We are waiting for quotes, drawings and calculations.  We also had to repair 30 metres of 4ft collapsed garden wall, 15m of 6ft wall to take down before it fell down and progress on replacing it with fencing has been delayed due to the constant high winds.  As I write this we have fencing halfway and the handyman has gone AWOL as he had other work booked in.  We think he will be back in two weeks to finish but stormy weather is set to continue.  So far this has been £3k not in the budget.

There have been some achievements.  Ten 80ft and potentially dangerous trees have been taken down.  This took 3 days to complete and was amazing to watch.  The guys abseiled up and down whilst taking the trees out section by section.  Not sure the locals enjoyed the restrictions on traffic along the lane, but near neighbours have all commented on their improved light levels.  Another £3k not in the budget!

We now have enormous piles……..of chopped logs stacked ready to be sawn and split.  This leaves us with another decision….which log burner to buy?.  That can wait until autumn as the wood will take at least a year to season in Neil’s new log store.  He thinks we now have enough wood to keep us going until they carry him out in his own wooden box!  We also have several large mounds of wood chips in the garden which have to fester for six months before we spread them.

As mentioned previously we inherited a gas AGA, and we’re not big AGA fans (sorry to those of you who love them).  Although people pay thousands for one of these beasts, the second hand sales market is really difficult as the only buyers seem to be companies who recondition them and sell on for a massive profit.  Eventually we secured a deal and it was finally gone.  It took nearly 4 hours for two men to disconnect, dismantle and remove it.

After several weeks, and a number of different options we have a kitchen design that works.  We also have a fitter we want to use.  However, we can’t start the kitchen until the structural walls are down which means we can’t schedule the very, very busy kitchen fitter until we have dates for the walls and we can’t do any of that until we select the builder.  We think we’re there but we are awaiting prices.  He comes very recommended but we know he’s not cheap so we have to wait for him to agree with the structural engineer about RSJ’s etc before he can price. 

We also need a new boiler as the existing one is probably older than Neil!  However, it sits in a narrow alcove which will need to be filled in before a new bigger one can be fitted. Can’t have a new boiler until we remove the old boiler, build the wall, let it go off, then fit the new boiler.  Don’t want to do that in February unless we can forecast 15C for a week or so. 

It’s been quite a frustrating month as we seem to be endlessly waiting for completed drawings, calculations for structural work and tradesmen to turn up and quote for jobs.  It’s all complicated by all the most recommended ones being busy with enough work for the next 3 months.  We were hoping to have an idea of when we could get started but that seems a long way off now.

Meanwhile, Neil is getting used to lugging, chopping and splitting and Cheryl is getting used to barrowing and stacking.  We’re using muscles we didn’t know we had.

One final thing, we have a new pet who is a regular visitor to the garden.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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. 

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?

Since the last posting we’ve been treading water to some extent.  Moving house for many people can be quite stressful as you don’t realise how much ‘stuff’ you’ve collected until you start to pack things.  As we haven’t had a formal home for 11 years for us it was easy.  We don’t have many personal possessions like clothes, nick-nacks and furniture……our world fits into a single garage with room to spare. 

In August we had a visit from Tony and Brenda which was great fun, hey, it always is when we get together.  They had never visited Bristol before, so it felt quite strange for us being tourists in our own town.  We caught the bus and wandered around the centre, listened to the choir practicing in Bristol Cathedral, visited Cheryl’s old school and Bristol Central Library where the little swot spent much of her time, walked over the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge and had a fine lunch in The Commercial Rooms on historic Corn Street.  Like a lot of people, we live on the outskirts of town and rarely explore the city centre these days so we discovered things in hometown Bristol that we didn’t know existed…………..and now we’re leaving!

We took another trip down to Seaton to visit the house again and get some instructions on how the heating works, how to operate the AGA and where various switches were.  We had great weather making this another BBQ trip, superb walking along the coastal path and enjoying the masses of blackberries that we have this year.  On the way home we dropped the caravan off at the new storage compound which will be its new home for the winter. It was meant to be a quick stop but the owner, a delightful old boy with a Devon accent as thick as clotted cream definitely wanted to chat so an hour and a half later we were on our way.

We had another ‘sibling lunch’ with Neil’s brothers and sisters and their partners.  Whilst the food was mediocre the company was superb.  We met in the historic Highwayman Inn that Neil frequented when he was in his late teens.  In those days if you wanted to impress a girl this was one of the country pubs you went to. 

It was also time to get all things medical done before we move.  We won’t have much time in Devon so getting eyes tested, an MOT at the doctors, flu and pneumonia jabs for the old pensioner (AKA Neil).  We’ve also started the process of changing our address on memberships and less important things.  Do you know how many things you have to change?  We have at least 50!!   If there is one good reason not to move house it’s the number of addresses you have to change.  To make it all worse, the financial institutions are particularly anal about the process and the timing of the changes.  ‘Jump through this hoop, skip through that hoop and provide your inside leg measurement’ before you can even start the process.  

The final planning for the packing concentrated our minds plus the general logistics of what goes where, when it goes there and the question of will everything fit into the removal van and the car.  They do say that to help stave off dementia keeping the mind alert helps, well moving to a new house certainly ticks that box. 

Just a day before the move we had a visit from our old friends from Sydney.  Chris and Viv were on their annual trip to the UK to visit friends and family.  It was a flying visit as this time Chris only had two weeks, so we really appreciate them fitting us in.  Neil has known Chris since the early 70’s but nothing much has changed other than a little bit less hair and a few extra inches on the waistline.  Weather was amazing, 20C and blazing sunshine which for mid September was quite unusual.  It has been a BBQ summer and who else to have one final al fresco meal with other than a couple of Aussies!  Of course, a few beers were sunk, the wine flowed and the reminiscing brought about lots of laughing. 

This is the final blog entry to bring chapter 11 to a close.  It’s been a different year for us with most of the time spent in the UK focused on finding our new home.  Chapter 12 will follow as soon as we have moved and settled in.  It’s definitely a new phase in our lives and we are looking forward to being in our home and settling into our new community.

You may remember that back in May we were spending our days walking in The Forest of Dean.  What we didn’t tell you is that we took a couple of days out to go shopping.

We’ve not lived a conventional life since we started that first six month trip back in 2008. Living a nomadic lifestyle split between long winter trips overseas and summer tours of the UK in our caravan has become normal for us.  However, over the last couple of years we’ve spent our time looking at various locations in the UK to buy our first home together.   We looked at coastal towns as we both love being by the sea, as well as various locations mainly in the South West.  We both had our own set of ‘must have requirements’ meaning that compromise was always going to happen. 

One day Cheryl showed Neil a house on Rightmove that took her fancy expecting him to say ‘no, absolutely not, it’s too expensive, it’s a money pit and hadn’t you noticed it’s way too big for two people?’.  He said all of the above but did agree to see it so we booked a viewing and then went again the next day to have another look. 

Well, it’s certainly more than we planned to spend, it probably is a money pit and it’s definitely much too big but we just fell in love with it even though it needs lots of remodelling and modernisation to satisfy our ‘must have requirements’. 

It wasn’t plain sailing through the sales process and several times we thought it was going to fall apart.  First the owners hadn’t found somewhere to move to, and that process took a month.  Then two months later when we went to visit them, they revealed that the first purchase wasn’t in the frame anymore but ‘not to worry, we’ve agreed a price on a house today’!  So, that’s three months gone already.  Then they revealed that the house was the subject of probate and we knew that process could take months.  Fortunately, they agreed to move into rented accommodation if needed.  Then there was another sticky moment when the drain survey revealed one or two potential problems.  Again, the sellers came up trumps and agreed to split the cost of the repairs. 

The house is in Seaton in Devon and it was built in 1928.  It’s a 5 minute walk to the beach, town, pubs, tennis courts, a proper butcher, The Purbeck Coastal Path, gym, theatre/cinema, Seaton Tramway, Jurassic Centre, Wetland Wildlife Trust, in fact, just about everything.  The garden is a whopping 0.75 of an acre with stunning specimen trees planted by the current owners who are nearing 90 years old.  It has several man caves, a garage, conservatory, loggia and a summer house. We also have a proper Croquet Lawn – now all we have to do is buy a croquet set and learn the rules. 

Ah, almost forgot.  It’ll also need furnishing and as we’ve not actually had a traditional home for the last 11 years our entire world fits into a single garage.  This means lots of shopping………. ‘deep joy’ said Neil.  Who cares, we’re excited about knocking down walls, changing the kitchen and installing some bathrooms, excited about putting down some roots, excited about living by the sea and just generally, as you might have worked out, very, very excited. 

We’ve just exchanged contracts and move in mid September.  We have several spare rooms if you want to come and visit, just let us know. 

No posts for a while as we’ve just been enjoying the better weather since the boat trip and lots of walking.  We’re around Bristol so we’ve also had some house things to do.

We took a couple of weeks out to go to the south Devon coast in the caravan and did lots and lots of walking.  The coastal path here is stunning as it’s along the famous Jurassic Coast.  The campsite was a short drive to the coast and we found a number of walks towards Beer, Seaton and a particularly long stretch from Seaton to Lyme Regis.  We even got our running shoes on and found a quiet route along country lanes and footpaths from the campsite.  The perfect weather made up for the lousy weather we had on the narrow boat, 10 nights, 10 BBQ’s and 10 sunsets from the wonderful west facing view across open countryside from our campsite.

Leaving Devon on the day before School Holidays started Neil decided we should set off early and, as we were headed North we should miss most of the traffic.  How wrong could he be?  He couldn’t predict the fuel spillage which shut the M5 Northbound just before Taunton.  Google maps helpfully showed us that the detour route on the A38 was solid and suggested a great cut through using country lanes.  Unfortunately, with a caravan on tow we accepted our fate and crawled along with the rest of the traffic.  We eventually made it back onto the M5 and looked for the nearest services for a much needed comfort break.  Unfortunately again, this was the plan for the rest of the delayed traffic and the slip road to the services was blocked with waiting vehicles.  It was the same at each of the services we reluctantly had to pass by.  In the end a less than 2 hour journey turned into over 4 tortuous hours with bladders bursting.

The next week we headed to June’s for a welcome party.  Neil’s niece, Lisa, arrived from Melbourne for 4 weeks visiting family and friends that she hadn’t seen for 5 years.  We stayed with her family in Australia 2 years ago but it was great to see her again surrounded by her mum and dad and 2 sisters.  It was a great evening with yet another BBQ on the hottest day of the year so far!

Then we headed up to Cheshire to visit Leanne and young Neil where, oooo surprise, we had a BBQ……this time in the p***ing down rain.  Thank you for the covered area outside the house.  Leanne announced that she had two wasps nests under the facia boards at the front of the house.  Neil realised that they could be reached from the bedroom windows so at dusk the two Neils sprayed the nests.  The following morning there were no wasps flying in and out.  When Leanne looked out through the downstairs window there was carnage!!  Out on the terrace there were two huge piles of dead wasps…….result.

Sunday arrived and Cheryl and Leanne headed off to Champneys Springs Health Spa for a celebratory girls session with Lisa.  11 ladies (Neil used that term lightly) armed with their body weight in Prosecco and snacks descended on the hotel for 2 days of pampering, exercise, eating, drinking and laughing.  They had a hoot.

Watch out for the next blog issue, we hope to have big news!

After our week in Scandinavia we arrived back in the UK to have 2 weeks on the narrow boat with Gail.  Starting from Gayton Marina in Northamptonshire we headed along the Grand Union and Oxford Canals towards Oxford.  We chose the first two weeks in June and have been used to having pretty good weather for our annual trip over the last few years but this year our luck ran out.  We did manage a BBQ on the first night but after that we endured day after day of a cold wind and driving rain and showers.  Midway through the second week Neil had set up the table and chairs for a second BBQ only for the cloud and rain to come from nowhere and bring us back indoors.  Neil wasn’t going to be beaten.  The wind was in the right direction so he closed the roof hatch but left the door into the cabin open, he dragged the BBQ to the entrance and cooked our dinner from the inside! 

On the way to Oxford we came across a teepee in the middle of nowhere which had a woodfired hot tub outside.  That looks perfect we thought.  On the return journey, during one of our coldest and wettest days Neil shouted to Cheryl and Gail to come out of the cabin, bring the camera and come and take a look.  Sitting in the steaming hot tub were a young couple drinking beer.  Neil gesticulated to them that he had respect for their decision to face the elements in the tub and they shouted back that they were ‘on honeymoon from Australia’!

Weather aside, the Oxford canal is quite lovely with open views of the countryside, farm animals and wildlife including kingfishers, foxes, deer, swans and kites.  Boaters generally are friendly people always passing the time of day.  The inclement weather seemed to encourage people to be more friendly and jokier about the persistent rain.  As he passed a woman waiting to take her boat into a lock Neil commented to her that he liked her woolly hat that had long sides that looked like long droopy ears.  She laughed and shouted back that ‘at least I didn’t have to do my hair this morning’.  Neil removed his woolly hat and shouted ‘I never have to do my hair’!  She laughed again.  There were lots of jokes that we were a week away from the midsummer solstice but despite the crappy weather we can’t wait for next year!

Boat trip over it was time to travel back to Bristol to move into Cheryl’s house, which is also up for sale, and set up home yet again. We had some time with our fast growing grandson who is now standing up and also to catch up on some paperwork.  Neil sold his last rental property making him a totally homeless person – he’s very grateful that Cheryl took him in.

We were only back in Bristol for a few days before it was time to travel to Gloucester to attend the annual family gathering.  Sadly, not everyone was there but then that would be almost impossible, but we managed to get 24 family members together. 

In complete contrast to the previous two weeks the weather was very kind to us, sunny and 21C and it lent itself to games with water guns.  It wasn’t long before some of the children had shed their wet clothes to just enjoy running around getting even wetter.  Roy performed a magic trick that isn’t really magic but his request for a gullible adult to assist him failed.  No fear, Maisie stepped forward to assist Roy only to get a thorough soaking.  She was a star, brave and stalwart despite the shock.  Neil did the BBQ and the day was fantastic.  Thank you to June and Roy for hosting the event and putting in so much work.

Back to Bristol to host Clive and Karen from Spain.  They were over on a whistle stop tour to do ‘family stuff’ with children and Karen’s mum.  We usually meet up on a camp site but with our 2 weeks on the boat and their family commitments we were only to have an afternoon.  Sunny weather, whoopee, meant we had a BBQ, chat, jokes and compared travel plans for the coming year.  Good to see you guys, let’s try not to leave it quite so long next time and definitely make it more than an afternoon!