Three weeks in England

Hello Dear Reader, I'm back. My trip to England wasn't the easiest three weeks of my life, but it was successful. I was able to help Gill clear mum's house, get it on the market, and much to our surprise, sold.

Nicky took me to the airport on the morning of Tuesday 24th Sept to catch my Singapore Airlines flight to Heathrow. Along with my baggage I was taking a swollen left ankle, the result of a couple of mozzie bites that my body wasn't appreciating. The 10 hour flight to Singapore didn't do them any good, but things improved in the 4 hours I had in Terminal 3, walking around, putting my foot up, and having a cup of tea and sticky bun. The anti-histamines which I bought at Auckland airport might have started to take effect too. Unfortunately things went downhill on the 13 hour flight to London, and to add insult to the injury about half way through the flight I bashed my ankle on the seat support in front of me. The paracetamol didn't really take the edge off the pain, so by the time I was walking to the Underground station at Heathrow T3 I was noticeably limping. My journey across London went smoothly and I had plenty of time at St Pancras to collect my train tickets, sort out my UK SIM card for my phone, have a second breakfast, and do a survey about the facilities at the station. Gill met me off the train in Sheffield (which was brilliant) and took me to mums house in South Anston. She was able to spend some of Wednesday afternoon with me to help me get organised. I was to spend most of the next few days just dealing with my ankle and the jet lag while figuring out how to best tackle the contents of the house, and start to eat my way through the food in the cupboards and freezer.

By Friday morning my ankle was starting to feel worse, with the swelling progressing up my leg, so I sought medical treatment and got some antibiotics. My first weekend was therefore quiet, and I was getting a little concerned about not making any progress. I was quite a bit brighter by Monday morning and sat down with the phone and the Yellow Pages and started to get things organised; boxes to pack things into, stair lift to be removed (which I had been grateful for when I first arrived), the British Heart Foundation to assess for clearing the house, and estate agents to get it on the market. The rest of the week was spent sorting methodically through draws and cupboards, packing, disposing our putting on one side each item we found. Meetings with the various people I had contacted on Monday punctuated each day. On Friday we signed up with an estate agent and the house was photographed in preparation for the brochure and its appearance on the web. 

I felt that we were making good enough progress for me to take the weekend off. Gill very kindly put me on the insurance for her car, and on Saturday morning I set off for Andover to the Family Hanlon. Tim was away working so it was just Alison and I with the five children, who were all fantastic and entertaining. On Sunday I drove over to Farnborough to have lunch with Felicity and Reg and exchange pertinent news, and then returned to Anston ready for the next week.

In my absence on the Sunday, the estate agent had shown three couples round the house. On Monday one of them made and offer, on Tuesday morning they agreed to raise it a little, and the deal was done - sold subject to contract. This was just fantastic news as I hadn't expected to achieve this while I was there. The rest of the week was just more sorting and packing which became a real slog. The only highlight was provided by a newly opened (July) café in the village. Gill and I had lunch there on three occasions and thoroughly enjoyed each of them. Friday was the next significant day and the BHF arrived as planned and took all the furniture and electrical items away. As I no longer had a bed to sleep in I moved up to the farm at Gills kind invitation.

Again I felt we were making good progress so took the weekend off. Amanda and I had planned to go walking on the Saturday but the weather was too wet, and she asked if I would help her buy a car. So, I drove us to a pub in Wooly Edge where we had a great lunch and a good chat before going to Tibshelf to look at the car. It turned out to be a fine little motor so Amanda bought it and drove it home. Sunday saw me driving to Loughborough to have lunch with Jancis who we see regally when she is in NZ. More good chats and putting the world to rights before returning to the farm.

Another branch of the BHF were booked for Monday to remove the "bric-a-brac" - books, clothes, crockery etc, and Moir and Peter were coming over from Chester to lend a hand. The BHF arrived much later then I had been expecting, so the butties which Peter bought from the local butcher were very welcome. They were not able to take everything in one load. With the help of Peter and his car Gill and I were able to take mums TV, stand, chair and some books and jigsaws to her in Waterside. M&P stayed on and treated me to an excellent evening meal in the Loyal Trooper - my regular when I lived in Anston 30 years ago. The BHF collected the remaining items on Tuesday morning and Gill and I finished off the tidying of the house before Gill took mum into Rotherham for a regular hospital visit. 

Mum is doing OK in Waterside. The full time care means that she is eating properly, taking her medication correctly, and getting more exercise as she now has space to move round with her walker freely. She is still very confused but this hasn't stopped her making new friendships. The only problem has been when her twin sister moved in. Mum was really looking forward to this and we (Gill, cousin Peter and I) all thought it was a good idea. Wrong! Jean has become very difficult in recent years and her arrival caused lots of problems.

Gill took me into Sheffield on Wednesday morning to catch my train to London. The morning had been consumed with packing and talking to the bank (in NZ), as my credit card had been copied and used in France, and subsequently suspended. I had time for a quick afternoon tea with Rachel Cocker in Kensington before heading off to Heathrow. The return flights were much more comfortable due to me not taking mozzie bites with me. I had a back massage (which included being walked on) and shower in Singapore T3 between flights, which really improved my mood.

Nicky collected me at Auckland airport on Friday lunchtime and had arranged to have the afternoon off work before going back to do her evening shift. I popped over to St Lukes for coffee with Claire but it didn't stop me having and early night in bed. I had some very strange dreams and when I got up to use the toilet in the middle on the night, I wasn't sure which house or country I was in. I had more strange dreams Saturday night too.

The weather has been very kind since I got back - no rain and lots of sunshine. Andrew (Nicky's brother) was in the area yesterday so dropped in for a chat and an update. It was good to see him. Claire and Ryan popped over after Claire had finished work, and I managed to get a very welcome hair cut. Nicky was in prison this morning, which was quite taxing after a poor night's sleep. We had lunch outside in the sunshine, and then lazed about on the sun-heated Ratigan before taking a gentle walk down to the beach. Steve came over for Scrabble and we had crumpets for tea. We are enjoying the Wensleydale I brought back with me.

It's good to be home!
Take care,
Rick