Monday 22 July 2013

One day my prince or bungalow will come.........

I am on tenterhooks (what are they I wonder?) about my proposed move. Daughter J and I daily phone offices in London, Hassocks, Haywards Heath, and we get different people every time: :Rohan, Linda, Marion, Charlotte,Jane. Hilary , the names roll off the tongue, and they all say, Oh I`ve just put a letter in the post , an email has been sent, or I`ll ring you back shortly. And then nothing happens.  So we do it all again the next day........
In the meantime I loll about in the heat, doing a bit of cooking for the family, sharing the dog walkies.    I have read several novels including Mark Haddon`s The Red House, Jonathon Coe`s The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim,  Evelyn Waugh`s  Decline and Fall (reread) and others.
They keep saying on the radio `Watch out for old people in the heat` I am not sure what is likely to happen but I feel OK at present
Yesterday, the Ditchling Village choir gave a concert accompanied by Herbie Flowers and our lovely choir master Ian who has shaved all his hair off for a cancer charity and now looks like a gangster   Only one member of the choir fainted in the heat, but the rest of us just dripped with sweat as we belted out The Rhythm of Life and Top of the World.
I am off up to Kendal next Monday to stay with dear ex  neighbours M and D and whilst there will go to some Poetry Events at Grasmere so that will be a treat and take my mind off my  moving problems..

Thursday 11 July 2013

Of No Fixed Abode

Well, I have moved out and am temporarily living with daughter J in Brighton. Yesterday three stalwart youths moved all my wordly goods into storage in the village, including a huge Acer tree,.a Camelia bush and other assorted potted plants and today I did a final clear out and found temporary homes in Ditchling for my cello, the broom, dustpan and brush, Hoover and a basket of food items including Marmite, elderly pots of chutney and the inevitable aged Christmas pudding that I can`t throw away but also cannot bear to eat..  
I am hoping that I will be able to move into the bungalow in a few days,weeks, months,who knows?   House agent, solicitor and manager of Dumbrells Court seem to be forever waiting for letters from each other.  New residents of St Dominics Cottage move in tomorrow and I left them a welcome card and flowers and closed the front door for the last time.  I am now a homeless octegenarian.
But in the meantime it is lovely here and B. Wiggins is very happy too. He went to the beach yesterday with daughter J and Tiger who left him guarding their clothes, but J was suddenly aware he was swimming bravely beside her,  really far out. Fortunately it was dead calm and he doggy paddled his way back safely.
Grand daughter G is in Uganda  for five weeks working at a school for children with special needs. They have hardly any toys or equipment.so we are having some fund raising events to try and send money to buy some while she is still there. We might do barmy dancing in the street like we did on Red Nose day.

Monday 1 July 2013

Up the Creek for a Week

I `m just back from Cornwall.      I had forgotten how far away it is.    The extra miles from Ditchling to Winchester where I picked up friend B and her dog Charlie makes it a very long drive. We crawled along the A303 amongst  the Glastonbury traffic. I always think I am nearly there when I get to Exeter and then realise it is not even half way. We also went to see dear friends near Penzance and that was miles and miles too but well worth it to see them.  B. Wiggins loved the cottage up the creek as he could run in and out without fear of traffic as it is cut off except at low tide..
On the way home I stayed for a night at Alresford with friend D so did not have to do the whole journey in one go.Then I stopped off for a Retreat Day at The Blue Idiol, an oddly named Quaker Meeting House at Coolham,  (once the home of William Penn, Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania). Whilst there we did a Walking Meditation and a puzzled B. Wiggins joined in, walking very slowly behind me.
Today I am battling with the solicitor again, trying to get a date for The Move. You would think I was buying a stately home instead of a measly little bungalow. I have teams of people waiting to spring into action to help. They will lose interest soon.  .