Gridlock and Confusion

For quite some time, his Lordship and I have been considering downsizing from the castle to somewhere much smaller in which to while away our golden years, freed from large garden maintenance and old building maintenance.

Almost before you could say 'lower the drawbridge' we have , given a few hundred thousand pounds, staked our claim to a very small modern conversion of an very old property nearby. This will go in my blips by the name of the 'dower house' which of course is a complete misnomer since his Lordship is alive and kicking and I am therefore no dowager.

The dower house is very very much smaller than the castle and life with his Lordship within its walls will be very cosy and intimate. At the moment we can almost go days without seeing each other, which can or cannot be good depending on the circumstances. However there will be no chance of missing each other in the new place.

Our goods and chattels, accumulated over 30 years in the castle will have to go, as will the goods and chattels of the children, who have been happy to use the turrets as industrial storage space for the same length of time.
They will be summoned after the sale (DV!) to come, have a farewell party , and retrieve or bin their belongings. There will be much angst and tears, I have no doubt, but I'm trying not to think about that.

So things are moving forward with considerable speed. Today was the "Home Report" survey - a nice little earner for the surveyors at the sellers' expense, given that it is quite likely that the buyer's mortgage company will not necessarily believe it, and they will have to get their own survey done.

This is just the tip of the monetary iceberg...... I'll tell you about Stamp Duty in future blips if I feel strong enough.... oh and lawyer's fees too!


This blip taken by chance from the cockpit of a bus is an illustration of how my mind feels at this moment -busy and gridlocked.