Moving north

For the past few years, Dad has been contemplating moving house. We have discussed it too many times to count. The house is too big for him now, could do with  some modernising and the contents of the garden have grown and grown like Topsy, thanks to the last two years of rain, rain and more rain. Finally, the decision was made and with it, a mixture of relief and trepidation as to what the future might hold, but fortunately, a buyer was found within the first week of the house being on the market and a very suitable, smaller house was also found and an offer made and accepted.
Next was the process of clearing out. Given that we moved into that house as a family in 1959, it was not surprising that an enormous amount of ‘stuff’ had accumulated over the years, much of which held memories, of course. However, fortune smiled on us again, as quite by chance, I discovered the answer to our prayers on the internet, in the form of Eli. Eli is in the business of clearing houses and doing removals and has often been called on to do a combination of both, but more importantly, he understands that this process is often a stressful and emotional one and brings patience and sensitivity into play accordingly. So it was that he came to Dad’s house to meet us a few weeks ago and spent over an hour with us, discussing the best ways of achieving the move with the least possible upheaval for Dad.
He has done two sessions with us now, with his two, equally pleasant employees and two large van loads have now been shipped out. Another good thing is that he will make sure that anything that can be, will be recycled or given to local charity shops and he seems to have lots of contacts in that area. One more session, the week after next and, hopefully, everything to go will be gone and what is left is what Dad will bring with him when he moves up here, just a few doors down from us.
I have considered telling Dad that, if he enrols in Welsh classes, he will get a cut in his council tax bill, but I don’t think he would be persuaded somehow!

Plaster board and dust

So, we're still no further forward on the British Gas smart meter front and I've given up making non-existent appointments with them...