House Blog - Pitcher Palace

Front Garden in February

2007-02-19T23:35:00.000Z

I've spent the last few weeks clearing up the front garden beds of dead leaves, raking the lawn and pruing back the hydrangea and budjlea ready for spring. I've weeded and planted some new plants - a Campanula, Cornus Alba, iris, ivy and sisyrinchium. Everything is starting to grow again and all the bulbs we planted last year are starting to show.

Fire!

2006-10-14T15:07:00.000Z

We have had the chimney swept, found a grate and sourced a local coal merchants and woodsellers. Woo! And here is the final product after a good burn!

Grate!

2006-09-17T22:52:00.000Z

Found this at the carboot near the airport. It only cost a tenner and despite being very awkward to get back to the car, a steal and a perfect fit in our front fireplace. Hooray!

Front Door Update

2006-09-17T22:48:00.000Z

The front door's stained glass got broken the day we moved in. It's now been releaded and secured behind a sheet of safety glass. It's rock solid and draught free. With it we have replainted the woodwork white and green. I think it contrasts well will the glass and it matches many of the houses on the street. The door fixtures, of which there two more to attach, have been cleaned up and restored to their former glory. Keeping with the brass theme we have added a front letterbox (we have previously had everything delivered around the back, and soon to come, a shiny brass number 6.

Old door with broken glass

Broken glass

Gaffer, the best of all the tapes..

We have painted the backdoor to macth :)

The old light above the back door

Back garden Update

2006-09-17T22:47:00.000Z

We have almost finished planting the back beds now. The weather is still very mild up here in Yorkshire so i reckon everything will get plenty of time to settle in before the weather turns. The new plants are Prunus (Cherry tree), Heuchera, Thalictrum (Meadow Rue), Cotinus (Smokey Bush), Alpine Rose, Vinca and Cyclamen. The pink flower is Osteospermum.

Fortress!

2006-08-28T20:45:00.000Z

The neighbour at the back has decided to build a fortress of a fence to keep everything out! She claims that children are vandalising her garden although i have never seen any doing so. She's been less than civil when i've suggested reconsidering the height of it. Good excuse to plant more climbers ;)

Clematis Armandii

2006-08-28T20:25:00.000Z

Here she is now with one summer behind her. If she carries on like this she'll rival the swathes i've seen in Ladbroke Grove.

Backgarden Update

2006-08-28T20:07:00.000Z

Lotsa stuff being happeing in the back garden. We have waited to plant some parts of it as we wanted to wait until some of the inherited plants had had a time there so we could see whether we wanted to keep them, such as the rhubarb. We've since dug over most of it and removed all of the weeds and planted quite a few more plants. The clematis Armandii has done incredibly well this summer and seems to love it's full sun position with cool roots. The hydrangea has proved a gorgeous contrast to our newly erected back fence which we decided to paint green to blend with the back and front doors. The lonicera looks like it will need another year to really show off but the caeoanthus and callicarpa both have grown enormously and i can't wait to see the latters berries this autumn. We have stripped the outside of the kitchen windows and have filled and painted them. We just need to finish filling around the windows and they will be finished bar the one pane we managed to crack in the process ;) Have to be careful with heat guns and glass.

The windows

The back fence

the new fence and flowering beds

Caeonathus, Callicarpa, Lonicera, Osteospermum, Rose, Myosotis, Alpine Rose

Kitchen Update

2006-08-28T19:47:00.000Z

We have been living in a squat pretty much for a year now. A few weeks ago a couple of friends came up and helped us out with removing the lead piping from the kitchen and replacing the piping that ran upstairs to the bathroom. This has meant that we are now able to plasterboard the kitchen as there is nothing else to take out now. We have started with the ceiling this weekend with the intention of getting the walls done in the next couple of weeks.

This is the before pic

..and this is a current pic. As you can see it doesn't look much but we have had the boiler and heating put in, some floor joists replaced in the kitchen floor, lead piping removed from all plumbing fixtures in the house which all ran through to the kitchen, we've started stripping the windows, doors and woodwork of paint and begun to fill and repaint them white, had electrics put in including lighting, stripped the walls of the old woodchip and we have had to pull out the old shelves and cupboard to make way for the units and we have pulled out the old 50's fire and bricked up the fireplace ready for plastering and put in the plumbing for a washing machine. So although it comestically looks little different, it's a whole new room now!

Back Garden Update

2006-05-22T18:14:00.000Z

We have started to put in a new back fence and have had to be a bit creative around the stone wall. I think it looks great. We still might stain it although are leaning towards a marine varnish to keep the natural colour of the wood.
We've also managed to build up the raised bed with the York stone that we had. When we moved in we found the stone in the garden, spread like a crude crazy paving beneath a carpet of weeds. It's well weathered and we are still finding more as we continue to dig! Great find as it's kept the costs right down.
Since building the beds we have put in a Ceoanthus and a Callicarpa. I am really excited about the latter as i have wanted one for ages. I saw one peeping over a fence one Christmas and it took ages to identify! It is deciduous but sports a profusion of tiny purple berries in the winter on long bare sticks. They look amazing!
The other two shrubs are inherited from the previous owners. There's a lovely purple Hydrangea and a large Rhubarb which we have been making crumbles from!

Back garden 1

Back garden 2

View from inside the house

Close up of the fence

Ceoanthus and Callicarpa in the new bed!

Back Garden

2006-05-04T22:58:00.001Z

Here are some pics of the back garden. It's by no means finished, we have simply dug it over and pulled out most of the weeds. These were taken a few weeks ago so the stone that you can see in the rockery at the back is now the stone in the raised beds at the front. Boy were they heavy so i bought a Chillington wheelbarrow to help with the load :)We have started painting the exterior pipework and have started to strip the windows and replace the putty ready for painting them. It's been a hard job deciding what colour to paint the place but i think we have decided on black pipework, white window frames and a green front and back door. The next lot of pictures will show the new fence. We will be replacing the side fence and are planning on mounting a 2ft fence onto the back wall to make the space a bit more private. We also want to put some decking in around the back door and build a small cold frame.

My Clemitis Armandii.
I have always wanted to grow one of these.

Lounge

2006-05-04T22:35:00.000Z

This is the front room. We haven't finished it yet but here it is floors sanded and with pale walls. We have almost finished stripping the slate fireplace of the drab caramel gloss that was spread throughout. It's much nicer black/grey.

Heres the before picture:

And here are the current ones:

We are stripping back the fireplace. It is slate underneath.

The newly sanded floorboards

New front garden!

2006-05-04T21:38:00.000Z

This is our front garden after much hard work and cold spring weekends digging. It was full of weeds and rubble and we had to dig down deep to get out the dandelion roots. The road we live on is on a hill so the garden slopes. We decided to put in the raised beds out of reclaimed stone with a level lawn. We put in an old railway sleeper to raise the level of the soil by the path so it was easier to level it. The planting is sparse at the moment, we still need a few more shrubs but everything is coming back to life again now it's getting warmer.

And when we had finished..

Other house stuff - fun things

2005-08-17T08:55:00.000Z

Some of the other things we have managed to do / get.

My sister plays piano. She has been looking for one for years. She was given this little beauty. How lucky is she!

I have been getting immense pleasure from starting to sort out our garden. We have managed to clear the front and started to plan the layout. We have a lot of Yorkshire stone in our back garden that we will want to move into the front to create some raised beds with, trouble is, it's heavy stuff so will take a little while to shift.
In the meantime we have picked up some plants and put them in to brighten the place up. We have Crocosmia, Lychnias (Campion), French Lavendar, A blue Veronica, Budljea 'Black Knight', Astilbe, Fern, some Euonymous and a lovely big Echinacea.

We have been working on the new house

2005-08-17T08:34:00.000Z

Lots of stuff done now but nothing really cosmetic, so nothing nice to see. Hence the lack of blogging.
First job was getting in Brick Tie to do the preservation work, add a damp proof course and replace a couple of rotten joints, 2nd off was getting the roof sorted out. After that we got the electrician in to rewire the whole place and this week we got in the plumber to fit central heating and a new boiler. Still left to do is refit the kitchen and bathroom with power shower, but for now, as it is, it is livable.
Here are the more recent pictures of the place. You can see the rads are in but we will still need to tidy up some of some of the walls where the elecdtrics have been sunk in.
You may notice though that the walls and woodwork have been given a cover of white / barley white, just to freshen up the place.

Bathroom

Front Room

Hall

My Room

Boiler

Kitchen

Snug

Front bedroom

Spare bedroom

I moved out of my rental accomodation

2005-06-08T09:35:00.000Z

last weekend and moved my belongings into my new house :)
It was a long weekend that took three days in total but it went really well and i don't feel worse for it. Last time i moved house i pulled my back out, the digging i have ben doing of late must have strengthened my back.
My dad moved me as that is his trade (very handy), and he also saw the house for the first time. He loves it, which i am relieved about. He also said that there is alot less work to do than he had first imagined and that it is in better condition too. Yay!

I won't miss my old flat. There were too many pubs nearby and too many drunken chavs announcing the intricacies of their love life at great volume after the pubs shut.
Here's a few pics of the old place...see ya :)

Bye Bye Emma and Lee

House Pics

2005-05-12T08:36:00.000Z

Here are the montages we have done for each room as they are now.
Watch this space as we start work on the place.
I won't be moving in just yet so work may be a little slow to start with.

Dining Room

Lounge

Cellar

Kitchen

Hallway

Hallway

Bedroom1

Bedroom2

Bedroom3

Finally...

2005-05-11T10:06:00.000Z

..it happened!
The sale completed.
Yes, we picked up the keys yesterday afternoon and the house is ours!
Yipp-diddly-dee.

It wasn't all plain sailing though. The sale did continue into May because the vendor wouldn't agree to leaving the clause in the TP1 form that allowed us access to her land in the event of neccessary cable or piping maintence, despite claiming to have proof we wouldn't need to. Because of this i spent the last Friday of the month ringing the local Electricity board and Gas board trying to obtain safe digging and cabling reports to illustrate the running of the serices into our property. After being passed round departments i finally spoke to people who could help although no maps would be made available that day. I had to wait for hard copies to be sent out because faxes were so ambiguous and not sufficient quality for legal purposes.
I asked whether anyone was able to give me advice over the phone and stressed the issue of time and one chap at the Electricity board stated that he thought there might be a concern regarding the electricity supply and i should wait to see the maps.

So we had to wait. There was no way i could take the risk of completing the purchase without knowing whether we would need to access the retained land to potentially reroute power supplies.

The following Tuesday, (Monday was Bank Holdiay), we received notice that the vendor now expected us to pay an additional £500 to her to meet her mortgage repayment, by Wednesday this amount had gone up to over £900. I received the Electricity report on Tuesday but had to wait another day for the gas. When i read the reports and spoke again with both departments on the phone i was reassured that the supplies didn't actually pass through her land and we should be ok to proceed.
Because however the maps were slapped with disclaimers, the avice being that they should be treated only as guides, i decided that i needed some extra reassurance. In order for the sale to complete i decided that we needed rights to access the land for up to a month after the sale in order to reroute services if we had to, otherwise we wouldn't complete.

I also stressed that in no way was i prepared to pay any extra costs to the vendor as she had delayed the sale after her solicitors had agreed the TP1 form.

She wasn't having any of it and to be honest at this point, i almost admitted defeat inside. I thought we had lost the place and was prepared for it, but the estate agents and our soicitors i believe, agreed to reduce her costs in order for the sale to complete. So in the end, they absorbed the additional costs and not her.

So now it is all over i do feel a great sense of achievement.

I managed to work through the cabling and piping issue by negotiating with the vendor through the estate agents and miraculously getting her to agree to allowing us access to her land for the sake of maintenance and rerouting purposes for the period of a month after the sale. This way we would be able to get a sparky and plumber in to check that our supplies are independant from hers and not running through her land.

The issues regarding the land rights of her retained land are no longer an issue as after speaking with the Land Registry and also taking a look around the area, i feel secure in the knowledge that any planning permission granted wouldn't negatively affect the value of our property. The vendor insists that she is keeping the land as garden for 'her own aesthetic', so that she has a 'nice' view from her studio whilst sculpting. Keeping the land in this state is something we all want, so all being well, everything should be fine there. Even if she does sell the land on, chances are the land would only be granted permission for a one story office purpose building. (There is a code for this in legal terms - it is classed as 'A2' I think).

This might sound a risk to anyone reading this, but it's not like the retained land feels like part of our property. The house has a back garden and at the end of that is a communal track, wide enough for vehicles. On the other side of this track is a raised area of garden. Along the row some properties have retained this and others have seemingly sold it on for, in one instance, an artist's studio.
So,with this in mind the land never felt like it belonged to the house anyway, when we first viewed the property.

The stress of the wholeprocess has been imense but at least this is where the fun starts and i get to live with Baj and my sis. Happy days.

So what have i learned?
Be cautious about buying land that has been newly split. If you are buying a 'transferred part' of a piece of land, then a document will have to be drawn up for each part of the now split land detailing the land rights for each parts. This document is called a TP1 form. This process can take longer than the usual transfer of a whole piece of land / properrty.

Here endeth the house buying blog and here starts the house renovation blog. Yay!
This is gonna be phototastic :)

2005-04-28T14:34:00.000Z

Yesterday i was in Leeds because i had to sign all my house documents, pay my deposit and solicitor fees ready to complete this Friday (before the end of the month, thus not putting ourselves in the position whereby the vendor starts asking for extra costs).

In order to do this i left work (in Kent) on Tuesday evening, got home, packed my bags and then drove up to Leeds that night. Unfortunately, i had to stay late at work helping someone with there laptop so i wasn't able to get on the motorway until 9pm. I got to Leeds at 3am on Wednesday morning.
After meeting with my solicitor during the day and signing my documents, i drove back from Leeds and got back at half past midnight. Despite this, i was in work on time today.

My point in explaining this is to illustrate how i have been going out of my way to get everything done for the end of this month, so that the vendor could not threaten us with extra incurred costs.

However, despite all my and my solicitors efforts, it would appear that today the vendor has opposed the rights that have been stipulated on the TP1 form.
This form has already been approved by her solicitors.
The rights in question are those pertaining to the land she is retaining. The form has been drafted to allow the land to remain unfettered apart from allowing us rights to access her land in the case of any services needing repair (water / elec / gas). However, the vendor has said that none of our utilities run through her land and thus, no such land rights need to exist.

Obviously this is a big deal. If we do have electricity cables or water pipes running through her land, then with the changes in the TP1 form she is proposing, we will not be able to acess them in the event of maintenance. I need to obtain cabling and digging records to ascertain where exactly these cables and pipes are. I would have thought that as the vendor is certain that we will not need to access her land for these purposes then she would have evidenxce to prove it. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the case.

So, i have had to ask my solicitor to request that she grant us extra time to go and make these enquiries ourselves. Without hard proof that we will not require access, there is no way that we can proceed.

I can't believe that after all the fuss she has made about completing before the end of the month, that she is now delaying things on the eve of completion. If she is so certain that she knows where the pipes are, then why can't she agree to the TP1 form as it currently stands, knowing that we will never need to access her land anyway?

I have decided the woman is mad.

The latest...

2005-04-26T13:54:00.000Z

Since agreeing to proceed with the sale with the land behind the property being unfettered, the TP1 is being drafted in accordance with what we have agreed. This hasn't been a smooth process because the vendor's solicitor didn't tell my solicitor the her plans for the land at the beginning. Instead, they were uncommunicative almost to the point of being obstructive and my solicitor has had to try and draft this form in the dark. He has done it on a trial and error basis, submitting the form and waiting for it to be returned to ammend it. As a result, its' drafting has taken longer than he had expected. If the vendor's solicitors had given my solicitors a copy of the TP1 form that they had drafted for the retained land, we would have been so much more informed as to what rights to place on the TP1 form for our land.
Because of all of this, there has been another delay.

As a result the vendor has said that if the sale doesn't go through before the end of April, she will be looking to me to reimburse her for next months mortgage repayment and also the increase in her soilicitors fees.

As you can imagine, after everything, i would rather pull out of the sale than give her more money.

Fortunately, my solicitor has called me to say that he has completed the TP1 form and that is has been approved by the vendor's solicitors, so all that needs to happen now is for me to sign and exchange and for them to 'draw down' my mortgage loan from my lender ready for completion.

Deal Breaker part 2..

2005-04-11T16:22:00.000Z

My solicitor just rang and said that the vendor will in no way agree to a covenant. The wants to keep the land unfettered. She intends to use the land as garden and 'for her own aesthetic', but she will not put any restrictions of height or purpose onto the land.
She claims that we have 'known this all along', (but of course we haven't as we were told in the beginning that the vendor wanted to build an artist studio on it!).

I have to ring my sister to hear her thoughts and also speak with the estate agents as my initial thoughts are that after all the concessions we have made to make this sale go through, (agreeing to absorb the extra costs for repair work that the survey threw up, etc) that should any other problems arise, that it would be the vendor's turn to move. She has been rude and threatening throughout and now it looks as if the tables are about to turn.

The situation is difficult as i do understand her point of view. If i had just bought a piece of land, i wouldn't want someone else dictating what i can and can not do with it. However, in order to sell the house i do think that she needs to be a little more understanding of her buyer.

As a result i decided to contact the Estate Agents and see whether they would have more joy speaking with the vendor than us. I wrote them a long letter explaining the situation and begging them for their help. They in turn tried speaking with the vendor about a covenant but she was immovable.

So, I contacted the planning office to see whether any plans had already been submitted for the land. None had. I also spoke with them about what plans had been passed and were likely to be passed in that area. I learned that on the street, not a single property had been granted planning permission for a two story building to be built on the land at the back and that it was highly unlikely that one ever would. The worst case scenario, they believed would be a single story unit for office use.

After much discussion, my sister and I decided to continue with the sale, despite everything. Having seen the property (our solicitor had not), at first glance we hadn't expected the extra land at the back to be ours anyway (as it looks like it is separate from the property). With this in mind, and also after seeking advice from The Land Registry, we figured that the risk wasn't as large as our soliciotor had originally made out.

Deal breaker?

2005-04-11T08:55:00.000Z

It is a rocky road we have been walking and just before the sun is about to break over the hills, we come to our last hurdle. They say it is always darkest before dawn and this is no exception.

All my searches have now come back on the property at Wesley Road, everything is in place and ready to complete other than the drafting of the TP1 form that states the land rights of our property and the back ot the garden that the vendor is retaining.

Apparently, the current vendor has said to my solicitor that she wants to use the retained land as garden however, she wants to retain the right to do what she will with the land in the future and she wants the TP1 form to state this.

My solicitor has said that he would not advise me buying the house under these circumstances and he is trying to get her to agree to putting a covenant in place. This would mean that any future changes to the land would have to be agreed by both parties (her and us). It would outline restrictions on the height of any proposed building and also purpose, thus avoiding the potential scenario of her building something that would negatively affect the value of our property. It would also mean that in the event of her deciding to sell the land on that any future owner would have to discuss plans with us too.

On one level, it feels 'a bit rum' to have to do this as the property is hers and on one level she should be able to do what she likes with it. However, she has proved herself to be far from trustworthy, what with her constant threats to 'pull out' of the sale, so i do not trust her at all. Of course, normally when you buy a house, the boundaries were set at the time of the house build so none of this kind of thing usually matters, however it is very different when land has been newly divided and when drafting a TP1 form.

So, this is it.
If she won't agree to a covenant, then we will have to pull out. I would rather lose £1,000-2,000 now than get a mortgage for over 100,000 on a property that could be worth half that at some point in the future. As far as i can see, no solicitor would advise their client to buy a house under these circumstances, so the vendor is going to have to decide if she really wants to sell the house or not.

We shall find out this week.

My other half and I

2005-04-05T09:33:00.000Z

..went to Devon last weekend. Yay!
We only went for one night but it was a great break and true chill out.
Our reason for going was to to buy a Landrover from Hartland near Biddeford. What a lovely part of the country that is.
The Landy is a lightweight ex MOD 1976 seriesIII model with a canvas top. It even has the army pick axe and shovel on the back. I have been getting flashbacks of my brothers action man dolls and vehicles of the same era. It should prove very valuable with all of the garden rubbish we need to move and the other house stuff we need to do prior to the sale. Getting a new bathroom for one.
We stayed the evening in Croyde in a beautiful thatched cottage B & B then set off early the next morning to brave the drive home. We needen't have been concerned as the Landy (now known as 'The Beast') coped marvellously well, even if Martin did get vibration sickness by the time we hit Swindon. Here's a picture of her;

Bed and Breakfast: http://www.homehousehotel.com/

Me and my man

2005-04-01T11:23:00.000Z

Have been doing some gardening.
Part of the relocating plan means that he will be selling the house he jointly owns with a friend. As they have only been in the property just a couple of years, there is still alot of work that needs doing around the place. As a result, we have been doing some form of DIY every weekend since before Christmas, in an effort to get things completed before it is the time to sell.
With the weather being as booty as it is currently, we elected to do some gardening. I say gardening, that implies pulling out a few weeds and planting some shrubs. What i meant to say is landscaping. We have dug out the middle section by hand, got rid of the weeds and old patchy turf, levelled the area and raked out the stones, then turfed it and added a few flower beds.
We did this over the bank holiday weekend so had a good four days to do it with, and we had anough time at the end of the weekend for a glass of wine at sundown and a seat in the sun.
We didn't do it alone. Martin's housemates helped also.
Here are some before and after pics:

Crap

2005-04-01T11:17:00.000Z

Is it all about to go Pete Tong?
Maybe.
Yesterday i spoke to my solicitor to discover that despite my searches coming back on the property and a 'TP1' form starting to be drafted, (this form is required as the land at the back of the property has been split by current vendor who is retaining part of the land and land rights need to be formalised), the vendor is still threatening to pull out if everything is not completed by this Friday (8th).

Cripes, half the reason for the delay is the drafting of this blooming TP1 form. Her solicitors have been shy in coming forward with the information neccessary so my solicitors are taking longer than usual to draft it. They also wouldn't let my solicitor have a copy of the TP1 form that hey drafted themselves which shows the extent of the land she is retaining. If they had seen this, it would be very clear to draft a TP1 form for the remaining land. At least this is my understanding of the matter, having spoken with my solicitor.

In an effort to speed things along when faced with solicitor's conundrums, i decided to ring the Land Registry. I figured, if i new how TP1 forms worked, then i would be better informed to instruct my solicitor. As a result, i spent two hours on the phone with them today. Boy am i glad i did.

I have discovered, after chatting with a very verbose but helpful lady that, the old lady that sold the house to the current vendor last September would have drafted a TR1 form to transfer the whole property to the current vendor. After that the current vendor, having elected to split the land off the back, would be required to draft a TP1 form for the land she was retaining and the land that she is transferring. After looking at the forms in place, there is evidence of a TP1 form showing the extent of the back of the garden that is split off but the title deed states that it is 'X Wesley Road' and not 'The land adjoining X Wesley Road'. According to The Land Registry, this is an error and needs to be sorted out. However, this is an error of the vendors yet she is threatening to pulling out!

I also discovered that her solicitor's insistence on my solicitors, to draft the TP1 form required to transfer the land and property over to us, doesn't usually lie in the buyers hands. It seems logical that a transfer of part of the land would be drawn up by the vendors solicitor rather than the buyers. Afterall, the vendor would be the one setting out rights and ensuring that everything is in place for a sale. The Land Registry admitted that there is no law about who draws up a TP1 form, but they did say if pushed they would expect a vendor's solicitor to draw it up. So their insistence on us drafting it, when we are under pressue regarding time, seems ludicrous if everyone truly wants the sale to go through. One can only hope that they don't have hidden motives.

I don't think that her solicitors will hear about all this until Monday, i just hope she sees the situation for what it is and becomes more flexible.

Please God no...

2005-03-22T16:04:00.000Z

I have just had a call from my solicitor - the vendor of the house i am buying is threatening to pull out of the sale because of the length of time it is taking for it to go through. As far as i am concerned i have been doing everything transparently, updating the estate agents on my every move and as far as i am aware, making sure that everything is at hand.
After agreeing the sale, my solicitor was on the job instantly, beginning with searches despite the bank holiday falling that week. I have been calling them everday, seeing if there is anything i can do to help, and calling the estate agents if ever there has been anything to communicate to the vendor. (I do not have the vendor's phone number). I have been instrumental in getting both solicitors to work more effectively together as the drafting of a form has become apparent and the responsibility of it ambiguous.
Because the current owner bought the land in order to slice some of the land off the back in order to build a studio, she has had to register it and split it using TP1 forms. This has encurred extra work at a time when time is of essence.

It's time to cross fingers everyone.

Housey housey!

2005-03-16T09:03:00.000Z

Well, it's taken a long time to get this far but i think we are nearing the end of our journey now.
The survey is complete, i have gone through it and listed all of the work that needs doing to the place and i have got quotes in from builder specialists and roofers. I have got back to the estate agents and asked them to speak with the vendor about the price but the vendor has decided that she is not moving, despite agreeing on the price 'subject to survey'.
So, we were left having to make the decision as to whether we go with it and accept the extra couple of grands work that needs doing or whether we pull out of the sale.
To be honest, after paying out for a survey, valuation and also getting my mortgage in place, i was reluctant to pull out just over a couple of grand. More to the point, when you start running with an idea, everything snowballs. Buying this house is no longer my only concern because since i made that decsion, other decisions have been made to run with it. My flatmate is to move out of our current rental situation and in with her boyfriend, my boyfriend will be selling his house to come and live with me... Everything is changing and not least so the fact that i have warned work that i will more than likely be handing in my notice this summer, so they are preparing for that also.
If we folded now and didn't buy, i would have alot to sort out.
However, everything is still pliable at the moment and seems to be waiting a little on the sale.
So we have gone with it, and accepted. It's all steam ahead!
Even more exciting, after making this decision despite hearing that the vendor wouldn't move on price despite the extra work that the survey has thrown up, the new budget has resulted in me not having to pay stamp duty on my property. How cool is that. It just goes to show that if you trust, the universe provides somewhere, somehow. Yay!

Another IT Anomaly

2005-03-07T12:37:00.000Z

I had to write to 10mega today

Dear 10MEGA,

I am writing to you today as I recently bought one of your 512MB Mini Drives that I chose specifically because of its compatibility with Win 98 and the availability or a Win 98 driver. I have to say that I was disappointed when I opened the packaging, as the drive was not shipped with its drivers. In order to get the drivers required, I was instructed to go to your website.

In order to download the software that I needed from your website, I had to go through a number of steps. One of these steps was to find 'My Product ID' to help identify what product I was getting the drivers for.
Bearing in mind I was trying to download the Win 98 driver so that I could use this product with a Win 98 machine, 10Mega's suggestion was to plug the flash drive into a Win XP or 2000 machine, and search for it's prod ID in Device Manager.

I don't think this is good enough.

Surely, if this product is stated as Win 98 compatible, I shouldn't have to:

a) Go online to download the drivers for its use.
b) Have to have a Win 2000 or Win XP machine in order to find out what the product ID of the drive is in order to go online and download the drivers so that it will work with Win 98.

Where is the logic in that?
Why isn't there a direct link to the software with the drive?

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Regards,

Good House News

2005-03-01T10:41:00.000Z

The surveyor has done his duty, the builders quotes are coming in on the back of it, just need to negotiate final price now.
Yippee...I am really looking forward to moving. I've had enough of the South ad look forward to Moor walks and fresh air.

More house related gubbins

2005-02-22T09:07:00.000Z

I went to Leeds this weekend with my boyfriend to see my sister, but also to view the house i am planning to buy, again. The great news is that my boyfriend likes the property too and can see the great potential in it. There is so much to do but we spoke to the estate agent and know a little more about the other properties in the area now. One opposite has had a loft development and a couple of en suites put in and as a result has increased value to 150,000 (and upto 165,000 in some cases).
Hopefully our plan to get alot of the work done before moving in will work, enabling us to earn what we do for a little longer before jumping in at the deep end.
It's a big change we are facing - buying a house in a city away from where we live currently, finding new jobs and moving in together as a couple. I am certain it is the right thing to do and am a great believer in fate and coincidence, and there have been many on the way, never-the-less i do appreciate the enormity of changes we are about to make.
It's exciting as i feel bored and trapped in my current situation as i can not afford to buy more than a room where i currently live. For at least three years now i have been watching the housing market and felt frustrated by the fact that i haven't been able to afford to continue living where i do now. I am lucky however to have friends and family in other parts of the country and my sister, as i have mentioned before, lives in Leeds. Fortunately I lived in Leeds for a year in the mid-ninetees with her, so i already know some of the area and feel prepared for what is to come. I just hope that my boyfriend will feel as comfortable as i am sure i will there, at least for the time being.

The world is full of the inept and stupid..

2005-02-16T15:31:00.000Z

..and i have met 3 of them today.

FFS, i wanna scream!

1) Bad house news - the surveyors decided to call me an hour into the survey to tell me that the price of the survey had gone up £100. I was told i didn't have to agree to pay it, but if i didn't i would have to book another survey through someone else for another day. What makes me angry is that i called the surveyors twice for a quote and on both occasions all they asked me was the number of bedrooms in the property. Now they are telling me that my house is 'bigger than usual'. Derrrrr....!
Because i have had to wait 2 weeks to get this one done, i can't afford to make the vendor wait any longer. I had to say go ahead.

2) I went to the local Peugeot garage to buy a new bulb for the front of my car. Last time i went they fitted it for free so i asked for a fitting. The woman behind the desk was a twit and even had to ask me which model of Peugeot i have....twice! However, despite me asking for a quote and waiting and waiting, the fitting took less ttime than the quote so by the time they had fit it i was still waiting for a quote back. I just got stung £18 for the bulb and fitting. Words fail me, especially as i have been scrimping and saving for so long now i have forgotten what it is like to treat myself.

3) I got back to work after going to the garage. One of the bints from the estate agents over the road had decided to park in the private alleyway that leads to our car park. I just had to go walkies to find out whos car it was and when i found the
woman, she has the audacity to tell me that she wouldn't be long. I had to stop myself screaming at her 'Woman, know your boundaries!'
Estate agents - deal with property and boundaries but conveniently forget all about them when it suits.

THGTTG

2005-02-16T13:04:00.000Z

To those who know and remember, that acronym isn't the name of a new Chris Evans Friday night show, (thank god). It is of course the 'familiar' way of referring to 'The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy'.
Everyone at our house is very excited about the new film version that will be coming out soon, as directed by Garth Jennings. I have just had a peek at the movie trailer and i have to say that my appetite is whet.
I was concerned, very concerned about how this project would work. I, like everyone, have such strong memories of the series and the books that it seemed that the only possible outcome would be failure. However, it seems to work, more than that, it looks really good!

I was very worried about Mos Def being Ford Prefect as i fondly remember Ford as looking a bit 'Willy Wonka' in a younger, thinner-lipped kind of way. However, Mos seems to embody Ford's 'cool' and fit the part very well indeed.
Marvin looks like a large scale 'Ratchet', (from 'Ratchet and Clank' the computer game), we shall just have to see whether Alan Rickman's voice breathes more life into him.
Martin Freeman also looks great as Arthur Dent, although he seems to lack a bit of the phrenetic energy that Simon Jones offered in the first. Maybe the idea of Earth being demolished for an alien superhighway isn't as scary as it once was which could be the reason for Freeman's 'stoner' attitude.
All this said, i can't wait to see it.

Yippppeeeeeee :)

View Trailer Here

:(

2005-02-15T08:59:00.000Z

Why do periods hurt so much?
I can't believe that childbirth could be any worse.
I was woken up in the middle of the night by pain.
It was so bad i had to get up and take some painkillers. By the time i had climbed back into bed i was wide awake AND in pain. I think i must have laid there until about seven before i fell back to sleep, only for my alarm to go off again twenty minutes later.
I feel like crap, need more painkillers and am really tired.
Sometimes being a woman is rubbish.

It's Valentine's day

2005-02-14T09:17:00.000Z

I got a very lovely card off my boyfriend today.
He made it himself. (Photo later).
The card has a 'handmade paper' red heart on it, but when you open it, inside there is a pop-up model of Domo Kun holding a card, with a ‘ handmade paper’ heart on it. And, you guessed it, inside his card is Domo-Kun holding another card with a heart on it.
It is very clever and very lovely.
Yay x

Pikea

2005-02-10T09:44:00.000Z

I wasn't surprised to hear this morning that there had been mayhem and a stabbing at the new Edmonton branch of Ikea that opened last night.
I used to visit Walthamstow, which is near to Edmonton, quite frequently a few years back and i always remarked on the number of chavs in the area who dressed their kids in 'Duffer St George' hoodies and wore nothing but designer labels themselves, yet looked like they didn't have two pennies to rub together. I was in no doubt that all their togs were from TK Maxx and they hadn't paid full price for them. They were all 'fur coat and no knickers' types - spoke like fishwives but pertained to be footballers wives.

Which is why the opening offers at Ikea were a very BAD idea. Leather sofas for £45. Did they really expect there not to be blood shed? Ikea bosses obviously hadn't done their market research properly. I mean, come on, how many people would abandon their cars on one of London's busiest roads just to get to a furniture shop??

Now that didn't happen at the Croydon opening of Ikea :)

Green

2005-02-08T20:17:00.000Z

One of the most exciting things about the house I am buying is the fact it has a garden. I love gardening, it’s a legacy from my parents. When I go back ‘home’ these days to visit my father, one of the first things we do is go for a ‘turn’ around the garden. He shows me what is in bloom and tells me the name of things. He’s done this for as long as I can remember.
At the moment I live in a block of flats and so have a shared garden that I mostly wouldn’t dream of sitting in. Instead, I make do with going to the park and I have a number of houseplants that I pamper. I love taking cuttings of things and growing them into plants that I can give as gifts as friends, especially when they have remarked on how much they like them beforehand. I love watching plants grow, getting in tune with them and understanding their needs, it’s a really simple thing once you start watching.
Because of all this, something that happened a few years ago really upset me. I was living with a girl in Carshalton Beeches not far from where I live now. She and her boyfriend were prone to arguments and one night, things went a little further. He (who shall remain nameless), decided this night because he was angry, rather than just shout he was going to wreck the place. This didn’t just involve chucking things around but also included tearing all the houseplants apart and kicking the soil EVERYWHERE. This wasn’t restricted to her plants but mine too. As you can imagine, when I woke up the next day and went downstairs, I thought we had been burgled.
I’ve never forgiven him. He still hasn’t replaced them either.

Foot blog

2005-02-08T10:41:00.000Z

It still hurts :(
But i think it is getting worse. I must go and see the doctor this week.
Ouchiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeee!
*Remembers not to get drunk and pogo around the living room to rock*

Moving, just keep moving...part 2

2005-02-08T09:17:00.000Z

Well, the house news is:

1) Our offer has been accepted
2) Valuation completed by Lender
3) Full structural survey is booked for next week
4) Solicitors have been contacted and are 'ready to go' depending on the results of the survey
5) I'm excited.

I really hope that the survey comes back showing only the work that we already know needs doing on the property. If much more needs doing, we may have to back out of the sale as even if they drop the price we won't have the cash up front to do the repairs with. *Crosses fingers*

Anyway, here is the little beauty:

This week i..

2005-02-08T09:15:00.000Z

..have been mostly... organising my house buy - so much paperwork!

I'm currently reading... The curious incident of the dog in the night time - i finally found a copy in my local Oxfam.

I am loving listening to... The Futureheads - 'Hounds of love' - now that's how to do a great cover!

I am remembering...don't think about work until i get into work - nuff said!

Things that should be happening... saving as much money as i can - houses are pricey!

I am really looking forward to... readdressing my work life balance after my move - and living with Boyfie :)

This weekend I will be...decorating my boyfriends hall, stairs and landing and that isn't a euphamism - he's selling, i am buying, somewhere we will meet inbetween.

'The Big I Am'

2005-02-03T10:02:00.000Z

Not feeling great today. I am suffering from the-day-after-the-night-before alcohol depression :( I didn't drink that much either.
Bugger. Work will be a struggle today.

I went out last night to watch some friends play in Croydon. The bands in question were 'The Big I Am' and 'Flight 16'.
'The Big I Am' haven't been together long but they are a kind of local 'supergroup'. A bit like Croydon's answer to Audio slave. All band members had been gigging for years with their various individual outfits. Sometime last year, they all drifted together and now are producing some of the most exciting sounds i have heard come out of Scream Studios in a while.
Vocally they have a lead vocalist and two backing singers, both of who are up front on the mikes with Paul the lead singer. They sound punchy and have the attack of a prize fighter. I reckon they will do well. Island records came to see them and apparently they likey :)

Only bad thing about the night was jumping around back at my place after the gig, i think i may have twisted/fractures/pulled my big toe :(
Booo!

There is tremendous happiness in making other people happy..

2005-02-02T16:23:00.000Z

..or so i find.

If someone asks me to do something and i am able, then i usually try to do so. Especially if the request will in turn make them happy. Too often these days, people are only interested in helping themselves. I don't like the 'What's in it for me?' attitude.

Living in Greater London as i do, i find i am surrounded by selfish people every day, be it on the roads or in shops or at work. It is terminally boring and i think unintelligent.
I do however appreciate that those people that are unable to give are the ones that are usually victims themselves. They have suffered to the point that they don't feel happy and therefore don't want to contribute to other people's happiness.

We all remember the times as children when we threw ourselves into everything and anything that came our way, unaffected by other peoples opinions. We remember when laughter was like air and sharing with others was our manna. Things only changed because we got hurt somewhere along the way.

If we all could all just 'reframe' our attitudes a little to try and do something small to help someone else every day, i think the benefit would be huge.

The luckiest girl in the world

2005-02-01T13:34:00.000Z

In the last 12 hours, i have been sent the following links, the first from my boyfriend and the second by my sister. My boyfriend added that 'he has one of these' with reference to the subject of his link.

I think i can officially say that i am deeply loved and am extremely lucky.
:D

Boyfie linky

Sissie Linky

Things that go 'bump' in the night

2005-02-01T09:39:00.000Z

I'm pretty used to things that go 'bump' in the night as i live in Wallington, a small place inbetween Croydon and Sutton, just off the high street. Every night as i am dropping off to sleep i am kept awake by the tourettic-bawls of drunken chavs as they leave the pubs and ~~head home~~ stand at the end of my road.

However, i think we may have a house ghost.
Well, i *say* that, what i mean is there have been some strange happenings in our house.
I live with a close friend in a flat share and have lived there for nearly two years now. During that time, the house has been quiet, that is up until just recently. Over the last couple of weeks, both my flat mate and i have been experiencing 'things' disappearing. However, the most recent occurrence will take some beating. There is a line of fresh candle wax cutting a swathe across our lounge carpet.
This probably wouldn't be out of place in most households, however, neither my flat mate or i have lit a candle since before Christmas and this wax is new.

What makes this all the more strange is the fact that it is not the first time i have experienced such things. My mother died when i was young and shortly after her death, i experienced the disappperance of many items in the house. My mother had been a hairdresser and ironically, my brushes and combs and other items kept disappearing. When i say disappear, what i mean is i would be brushing my hair, put down my brush, spray my hair (it was the eighties), and then go to pick up my brush again and it would be gone. I would find said item in odd places weeks later like under the bed or at the back of a cupboard. I got pretty used to this happening and after speaking with a family friend who had spoken to a spiritualist, believed that it was my mother just reminding me that she was still here.

What makes the discovery of the line of wax even more interesting is the fact that it seems to 'start' from the photograph i have hanging up of my mother.

Sex laws

2005-01-31T13:43:00.000Z

OMG

I was stunned this morning about the story of the 25-year-old waitress who turned down a job providing "sexual services" at a brothel in Berlin, who faces possible cuts to her unemployment benefit under laws introduced this year.
W.T.F. is that all about. Surely, they can not be serious.
I can honestly say here and now that i am not a violent person, but if anyone tried to force me into the sex industry i would thump them so hard that they wouldn't be able to say it, let alone sample it.
I honestly can not believe that the story is true. It is doubly wrong because most women wouldn't dream of visiting a prostitute for sex, so why should they be forced to be one.
Does this mean that if there was a demand for male prostitues, men would be pressured to work in the same way?

I think i might go to Berlin and start-up the biggest gay brothel for men ever and head to the job centre looking for new employees. Let's see how they like that one!

Sunlight

2005-01-31T10:53:00.000Z

I woke up this morning to daylight. I'd almost forgotten what that feels like. I haven't seen my home in daylight for weeks. Not that i live in the arctic circle or anything, rather i work long days and spend my weekends at my boyfriend's house.
It has made a huge difference to my day already.
I didn't have to leave the house in darkness, have to scrape ice off my windscreen, shuffle through dingy Croydon to join the ranks of people trying to get somewhere before 9 a.m all in an overhanging gloom.
No, the days are definitely getting longer and the reality of tangoing home with the light fantastic isn't far away.

Yay!

/paints toe nails ready for flip-flops

Radio shows

2005-01-27T09:32:00.000Z

I listen to XFM every day.
I particularly enjoy the breakfast show with Christian O'Connell and Chris Smith. The amount of effort that they put into their shows as well as the obvious enjoyment they get from doing them never fails to impress me. From their 'Rock School' gigs to rewriting of theme tunes of popular television shows and their sexline rodeo feature, they always make me laugh.
Just recently however, i was slated for listening to OC and told that 'Wogan is best'. Being broadminded, i decided last week to tune into a few of his breakfast shows to see what the fuss is about. What a HUGE disappointment it was. I am a lover of music and prefer listening to a station that offers 'new' music rather than regurgitating the same old stuff that i didn't like when it was first released.
With XFM i get to listen to the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age, Kaiser Chiefs and Athlete. Wogan's offering this morning was The Lighthouse Family. No contest in my book.
Maybe i just need some rock in the mornings to get me in the mood for the day.

I also love Lauren Laverne who does the drive time show in the evenings. Utmost respect to her for being not only very funny and very beautiful but also for possessing a large music knowledge.

On her playlist this week has been: Roots Manuva - 'Colossal Insight'.
What a tune that is! It has to be my single of the week. I love the way he writes and approaches his lyrics, allowing his truly unique British sound to come out.
Excellent stuff.

Board meetings

2005-01-26T10:02:00.000Z

The best thing about board meetings at work is the food that comes out of them. I am sitting here eating the remains of a bowl of crisps and it is anyones guess what flavour they all started life as.
Mmmmmm, vinegary-bacony-cheesy potato goodness :)

Anatomy for beginners

2005-01-25T09:21:00.000Z

Last night i watched the first installment of 'Anatomy for beginners' on Channel Four. It was quite unnerving. Seeing a human body being skinned from head to toe is probably one of the strangest things i have ever witnessed as accompanying the shedding of the skin, the life and soul were stripped also. The body transgressed from human to 'meat' before my eyes and all that was left was a large piece of young leather in the shape of a leotard. Very odd.
It was one of those programs that made me want to watch and yet turn off at the same time but i am glad i sat through it.

I always remember as a child the day i found out i had a skeleton inside me. It freaked me right out and i remember sitting in front of the mirror and pulling my mouth apart to expose my gums and teeth to help me imagine what was inside. I am sure everyone remembers equal fascination with their own bodies in youth and probably not just involving their skeletons ;)

I appreciate that there is alot of resistance to Dr Gunther von Hagens work, (or Herr Cutt as he is known in my house). I personally struggle to call him an artist as strategically placing an umbrella on a cadaver, (as seen in the 'Body Worlds' exhibition), hardly constitues art to me.
I felt that the 'art' of the exhibition was in him challenging the way you 'see' (John Berger), by revealing something that is usually hidden, rather than the work itself. There is obviously an art to surgery but does that make every surgeon an artist?

However, the debate as to whether the TV program 'Anatomy for Beginners' should have been made public, seems redundant to me. We all have a body and in a world where we are clandestine about very little, it seems to be strange to try and shelter the general public from learning more about 'themselves'.

DVDs

2005-01-24T11:13:00.000Z

I love buying DVDs, in fact, it has become a side of myself that i need to 'watch' a little. For this reason, i always love a good DVD freebie, something that seems to be prevalent in the Sunday newspapers at the moment.

This weeks offer was 'A River Runs Through It', directed by Robert Redford. It is the story of two fly-fishing sons of a Presbyterian minister, one of whom is well educated, the other who is wild and rebellious, who grow up in rural Montana. When i got my copy this week i was elated as it is a film i would have bought at some point anyway, having seen it and enjoyed it a few times before.

Last night, when i got in, i didn't wait to put the film on and get lost in the gentle flow of life by the river. What makes the film so memorable (and magical in my opinion), is the natural beauty it depicts and the way it manages to communicate a deep sense of spirituality and connection to the landscape in which it is set. As the title suggests, the (Blackfoot) river really does flow through not only the home of our heroes but also their hearts and souls. A priceless legacy from their father. The film ends on a less joyous note but for the most part it is satisfyingly relaxing.

Too often these days, films thrust us into dark, noisy worlds of violence and despair. 'A River Runs Through It' is more akin to taking a walk in the sun. By saying this i am not in anyway suggesting that i only watch 'gentle' films. I have my macabre side like everyone and probably enjoy dark films more so than most women i know. It's just that sometimes you need a bit of quiet.
It's a bit like opting to watch 'Countdown' at 4 a.m, when on every other channel there is some cop show.

Houses again!

2005-01-24T10:16:00.001Z

I am currently waiting to hear whether the house i have made an offer on is mine. It's a large Victorian house in Leeds that needs a fair bit of work doing to it. My twin sister lives in Leeds, so we plan to move back in together, the first time in 17 years. I can't wait :) What makes the situation even better is that my boyfriend wants to come too. So all being well, we will all be in Leeds by the end of the summer.
As i said, the house needs some work doing to it before we can move in. The whole place is pristine, in the sense that it hasn't ever had much done to it so is almost totally original. As a result, i will have to get the whole thing rewired and central heating put in. Other jobs include taking out the floor joists from the galley kitchen and replacing them as they are rotten and then fitting a new kitchen. The good news is that the roof report came back with only £400 worth of damage. Result.
Fortunately, i have been saving for some time now to be able to afford to do this as has my sister, so we have the cash to perform most of the repairs as soon as we can get a builder in. Never-the-less, i find myself switching between feeling completely mad to even consider such a project and totally blown-away excited.
It is a big move that i am contemplating as i currently live and work in Croydon. Not only does this move involve buying and repairing this house but i will also need to find another job and coordinate all of that into my plans. I am fortunate in having alot of friends who are willing to help me out. Some who have said that i am welcome to stay with them rent free to help me save a bit of extra cash to provide a buffer to job hunt with.
The things worth having in life are those things that require some effort. The cliche 'Feel the fear and do it anyway' comes to mind.
Bring it on!

Houses

2005-01-22T23:25:00.000Z

I might be buying one....eeep!

Today i am mostly loving:

2005-01-20T14:46:00.000Z

Mogwai - Hunted by a freak.

Everytime i see that Film four advert i stop what i am doing and listen.
Absolutely brilliant.

Tsunami 'victim' safe in prison

2005-01-12T09:30:00.000Z

Just to prove that there is a bright side to everything, the story of Mark Steven Doogue versus the South East Asian earthquake made me laugh heartily yesterday.

It seems that Mark told his friends and family that he was off to Phuket in Thailand on a three-month holiday. After saying his goodbyes to his family the tsunami struck and the family thought they had lost him. 'Fortunately', Mark had actually gone to prison on a three month stretch. Police had to issue a photograph of him to his sons when they thought he was missing, to prove his whereabouts.

Fantastic story.
What are the chances of that then?

It reminds me of the story of the guy who was meant to be in the twin towers of the World Trade Centre on 9/11. His wife thought she had lost him until it transpired that he was not in work at that time, rather he was in bed with his mistress instead. Unfortunately for him, the story didn't have such a happy ending - his wife left him shortly afterwards.

Still, it's interesting to think that with the current trend of regular 'acts of God', that the secret lives of many people will be disclosed. And with that, it is safe to think that even in the worst of tragedies, there will always be something to laugh about.

Tsunami ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2005-01-10T09:31:00.000Z

Following the tsunami on boxing day in South East Asia, I have been watching the world react to the devastation it has caused. Most of us have contributed to the massive amount of money that has been pledged from around the world. I have been bowled-over by the generosity of everybody.
This past weekend, British terrestrial television aired a number of programmes addressing the issues of global warming and natural disasters illustrating the threat nature and the weather poses on us today.
I sat there pondering afterwards on what would happen if the majority of the 'developed' world had been hit by such a tragedy. Where would we get our aid from and could we be in a situation where in the aftermath of such a disaster, the only countries not affected, don't have the infrastructure or the resources to perform any emergency operation.
Surely, with the threat of natural disasters occurring more often, we need to organise a global contingency fund rather than rely on charitable donations.
I'm no politician and wouldn't even like to suggest how we could go about organising such a thing, but it seems like common sense to me.

New Years resolutions

2005-01-05T10:20:00.001Z

Resolution #1: Despite receiving a new 'work' phone before Christmas that has an inbuilt camera, i haven't as yet managed to update my moblog. Best get on with that asap. I have been holding off buying a new digi-cam as i have been saving for a big purchase, which is...
Resolution #2: Buy a house! I have been looking to move 'north' to Leeds from London. I can't afford to buy around here as i am looking to buy on my own. I plan to buy one with my sister.
Resolution #3:Make some art. I've been real busy of late.
Resolution #4: Do more sport. I love yoga and love swimming but again have been finding less and less time to do these things recently.
Resolution #5: Re-address my work / life balance in order to facillitate actually doing some of the above. I have a fulltime job as well as providing support for a few small companies in the evenings. I work alot.

New Year!

2005-01-05T10:09:00.001Z

Well, that is another Christmas over and very nice it was too. New Year was amusing also. It was the first time that i have stayed in since i have been old enough to go out.
I have been sad at my inability to blog as i have been in the boonies with my dad. He now has a computer which is quite a feat i can tell you, but 'dial-up hell' has prevented me from spending too much time online.
However, i am happy to report that on day two of the new working year, i am feeling rather groovy and positive and, dare i say it, optimistic for the year ahead.
Woo and a yay to me!
Two weeks off does you the power of good!

Moving, just keep moving

2004-12-08T11:15:00.001Z

I'm hoping to buy a house.
I say hoping as it is a process that frightens the life out of whilst simultaneously i find thrilling. Living in South London the housing market has been impossible to crack for me, a woman looking to buy on her own. Despite working in IT, my salary has never been enough to enable me to buy a flat on my own in the current climate and i *really* don't want to buy a bedsit!

Blogging or boring?

2004-12-08T09:45:00.000Z

Blogging is a funny activity.
I am thoroughly enjoying writing this although am concerned that none of my posts link with the others. I suppose that this is a fear that most bloggers without a particular purpose have. I am sure that at some point some theme will cut a swathe through my ramblings and make sense of it all.
*Crosses fingers*

Reading material

2004-12-07T17:06:00.001Z

I love reading.
Whenever i start reading a good book i turn into my father - i get 'deaf ears' and do very little else until the book is finished. It becomes quite an obsession!
I've been reading Sherlock Holmes recently having been lent a copy that was printed in 1912. The Art Nouveau embossed green fabric cover and the illuminated text within has just added to the books' charm. The epic themes woven into the story The Sign of the Four have blown me away. Thrown from moments of tender love to imagining a malillminated corpse from recognisable London to remote parts of an emerging U.S.
I can't wait to read more!

Monday Morning

2004-12-06T10:26:00.002Z

At work and thinking of owning my own house. Can't wait to make it a reality. It's looking like i might have to consider buying further afield if i am to realise this.

Happy Days

2004-12-02T10:33:00.001Z

Sometimes that is enough!

2,4,6,8 Who do we appreciate?

2004-11-30T09:07:00.001Z

Feeling a little 'worse for wear' today as i went out to The Forum in Kentish Town last night to see Gomez play. They were fantastic. It has been a long time since i have been to a gig where all the musicians on stage swapped instruments. I imagine their ability to jam along on anything is down to the 'pounds of marijuana' they have caned and the 'hundreds of bottles of Jack Daniels' they have drunk during the many hours they have spent on their tour bus. (There i quote!) A fitting diet for the love children of Janis Joplin and Tom Waites.
The gig was an eclectic mix of old and new material which meant the crowds sang along with gusto, climaxing with 'Get Myself Arrested'.
The first time I heard Ben Ottewell's vocals, they cut through the crowd like a deity had just spoken. Around me the crowd chatter subsided. I half expected the ceiling to part and for light to flood in from above. I was convinced during a couple of tracks that there was a fiddler on stage with them but looking around it was Ben that was coaxing the sound from his slide guitar.
By the time i left the venue, i was aching to be in a band again, the true mark of a good gig!
Stunning, I can't wait until next tour.

Curtains up!

2004-11-25T14:56:00.002Z

First Post!

*bugle*

I used to write a diary.
I used to write it every day.
I have diaries that go so far back that they have entries in them about playing with my Sindy dolls. I recently unearthed them from my father's loft and what amusement i have had re-reading them!
I am a twin and I shared a bedroom throughout my childhood with my sister.
Writing a diary back then was my escape, my space away from the crowded quarters we lived in.

This blog is intended as documentation of the development of the Victorian house we bought together about thirty years after the photo below was taken.
Far from wanting to escape one another we have chosen to live in close quarters again!