The mini beast from the east

Last weekend we had more snow, accompanied by sub zero temperatures for three days.   The mini 'beast from the east'.

The kookaburra standing out against the snow in the background.   Not a real kookaburra, of course, but a steel one, a gift from Aaron and Kylie.   He, or of course she, will experience its last winter here, as I will be removing it from the tree soon, in readiness to move to Australia.   Of course I will have to disinfect it, together with anything else from the garden, the tent and all our walking boots and shoes, in accordance with the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.

As we are now experiencing 12 degree weather, it is hard to believe it was so cold last weekend.

No sign of the rhubarb growing rapidly or the daffodils in our garden.

The entrance to Joydens Wood, a very wintry scene.   Interestingly the warmth of the previous few weeks meant that the paths had warmed up.   Consequently the snow did not settle on any of the paths.

Walter looking very snug in his winter gear.   This was his first walk in the woods since his knee replacement operation and he managed extremely well on the uneven and sometimes slippery surfaces.

The snow stayed on the branches and trunks of the trees, which gave them an interesting outline.

A view through the pines, down to the valley path.

Snow on the signpost.

A different woods altogether yesterday when I took Bobby for a walk.   The warm sunshine felt warm on our backs.

A view of the dry heath area of the woods, with the gorse starting to come out in flower.

 No other signs of Spring yet, but the trees made interesting shadows in the brighter sunshine.  Bobby found an interesting scent at the bottom of one of the trees.

We also learnt this week that contrary to expectations we have a proposed completion date, in the middle of April.   It is not fixed and no contracts have been signed but all looking much more positive. 

Anxiety Overload

I have been spending too much time thinking and worrying about matters which could affect how much money we can send to Australia after we sell the house.   The uncertainty of the pound, which fluctuates in value depending on the current political situation in the UK, means we could effectively lose a few thousand dollars, or pounds, depending on which way one looks at it.

I also care about the United Kingdom, even though we are hopefully leaving here shortly, but it is not possible to have lived twenty six years in a country without forming an affinity with the people.

But worrying about the state of affairs here, only added to my anxiety over the sale of this house.  I have learnt that too much reading and thinking and pondering was not conducive to a restful night, especially as panic tended to set in as soon as I get into bed.

I was reading too many articles and commentaries about leaving the European Union.    The articles and books also covered the political history for the past thirty years or so, and it was not positive reading.   But more than anything, the current inadequacy of the government, who are so out of their depth, is the most worrying.   The members of the cabinet and the parliament have differing opinions about leaving the EU and cannot arrive at a consensus.    And add to the mix are a few prominent right wingers who want to crash out of the EU, regardless of the economic disaster that will follow.

And to make matters worse every time our Prime Minister makes a statement it seems to compound the problems rather than resolve them.

However as I write this blog, there has been some consensus in the Brexit arrangements, although it would appear that the UK has had to make many concessions.   But there is an agreement, of sorts.  And the pound has risen in value because of it.

It has been difficult watching the events unfold in Salisbury during the past two weeks.   We have all felt alarmed at the type of nerve agent which was used on the father and his daughter, with a police officer being affected as well.  A worrying time for everyone, and especially for the people of Salisbury. 

Again one worries about the outcome for the United Kingdom, when many statements from cabinet ministers are inflammatory rather than constructive.    There is much at stake here,

I am being strong, and have stopped reading indepth political articles or books.   I must admit I still read the papers in the morning plus a quick look at lunchtime, but have stopped at that, no more obsessive reading of everything.    Walter is especially grateful as I no longer want to have indepth discussions about 'Brexit'. 

So I have downloaded books that are light hearted and easy to read or humorous.   I am currently reading books about outback travel in Australia which involve towing caravans.   Not that I am thinking of persuading Walter to do that. Rest easy there Walter.

I have also bought an adult dot to dot book, which is great for the eye sight and steadying the hand.   I do tend to try to finish each page quickly, in keeping with my competitive nature.   I must stop that too. 

 I have bought some organic 'sleep easy' tea bags which do not smell too much of 'cat pee' due to the main ingredients of chamomile and valerian.  Luckily the smell has been camouflaged by the addition of cinnamon. 

But I have decided not to cut out my morning coffee and evening glass of red wine.  Lets not get too driven by the need to reduce my anxiety levels. 

The good news is that I am sleeping very well, and am feeling so much more relaxed.

Patience

This afternoon Walter dropped another envelope, containing an answer to a query from the buyer's solicitor.   I wonder if solicitors involved in conveyancing justify their existence by asking obscure questions.     

Our property is a little complex, in that there is a joint freehold of two maisonettes, with each owner leasing their property.   Access to the house is via an 'unadopted' road.  These two factors have caused difficulties with the sale of the house, although we have lived here for nearly twenty six years and never had any difficulties with either factors.    However we have taken out two indemnity policies, on the advice of both solicitors which cover our buyer in the future, should any difficulties occur with  the building insurance, maintenance of the building and the road in front of the house.     All this comes to an extra £480.   In the end we want to sell the house, so felt that we had no choice but to pay up.

An unadopted road, is one that is not maintained by the council.   People can have access to the road as it is not a private road, and each house owner is responsible for the part of the road in front of their house, according to the website on 'gov.uk'.

The paper work to date.  My apologies to readers but I think I need to write the list in order to clear my head.

I have completed the: Memorandum of Sale, Personal Details Questionnaire, Purchase Information Form, Property Information Form, Sale Information Form, Fixtures & Contents Form, Leasehold Information Form, Conservatory Questionnaire, Leasehold Form signed by both current tenants.

Plus

I have answered a seemingly endless list of queries relating to the above forms, dropped off the forms to the solicitors after completion, written many emails and made numerous telephone calls and of course paid for two Indemnity Policies.

And so it goes on.   

But today the sun is shining, and Bobbi loves it.   She is sunbathing, by the way, and not dead.   She is also no doubt waiting for me to take her for a walk.   Our one day of sunshine.

My new dark blue spotty wellingtons.    More short rubber boots really, and easy to put on, but certainly not high enough for our muddy woods.   But in light of the fact that I will be only using them for a few months here, I felt they were more suitable for hotter climates, especially for walking on the wet sea grass and sand below the cliffs at Aldinga Beach.   More air around the ankles.   For a few short minutes, before I wore them the first time, I thought about standing on a snake in them.   No protection for the legs.   However, for all the bush walking and camping I have done I have never stepped on a snake, so I doubt that I will do so in the future.   I cannot take them back now, and get a normal pair of wellingtons as they are covered in mud.   

Ah, my lovely snow boots which will be absolutely no use in Adelaide.   Off to the charity shop I think.    So warm and comfortable.

The moles are feeling happy too, and cleaning out their tunnels.   I will not miss the moles.

The rhubarb is growing rapidly.

The jonquils are flowering.   The small shrubs are about to burst into leaf and the camellia flowers are starting to open up.   Spring is in the air.

But more than anything else we need to be patient, as we wait for the slow progress of the house sale, and keep our fingers crossed that it does happen in the end. 

And politically and economically the United Kingdom is not in a good place right now.

Still waiting plus more cold and snow

The sun was shining this morning, and the temperature reached eight degrees, although the real temperature apparently felt like four degrees.   However the temperature felt like a heat wave compared to the recent few weeks.    

It has been cold, bitterly cold, with winds coming from the north east.  Siberian temperatures. The Beast from the East according to the weather people.

Sunshine this morning.

The completion of the sale of the house continues to move along very slowly.    Tomorrow I will take the third lot of paper work into the solicitors, the answer to more queries.   I answer all emails and questions promptly but it would appear that not everyone in the chain is so conscientious, with different buyers and sellers still completing initial forms.    For people living in Australia and New Zealand, selling houses here involves much paperwork, which justifies the solicitors' existence I think.   

Our estate agent employs someone with the title of 'Progresser'.  I looked the word up in the Collins dictionary, and it appears to be a French word, which basically means 'to move over a period of time to a stronger, more advanced, or more desirable state'.  The 'Progresser' in the real estate firm keeps everyone involved in a house sale moving along with their paper work, and then reports back to the seller.   A personal approach, and one which I appreciate very much.  Mind you, if house sales here were less complicated there would be no need for a 'Progresser'.

Last week the 'Progresser' found out that there were more people in the chain than first thought, so we now have an extra house at the bottom of the chain, and this house plus the one above it, are still at the beginning of the process, in that their solicitors have only just started the land title searches.   Apparently the searches will take some time due to the fact that both houses are in the London Borough of Greenwich.

And of course it could all end in a non sale with a buyer or seller pulling out of their house sale and then the whole chain collapses.  And we will be back to square one. 

How did we get caught up in a chain, one may ask?   Well it was due to the estate agent assuring us there were only two other houses in the chain, and the people buying the first house were first home buyers and were nearly ready to complete the process.    So not true!

In the meantime life goes on.

Emma and Steve completed their house sale, and moved in with us for ten days while the paperwork was being completed for their rented house, a huge vicarage in Orpington.    They are loving having so much space.

Two weeks ago Bobbi went to the groomers, and now sports a Chinese Crested hairstyle.   The groomer followed the instructions set out in her grooming book.    Poor Bobbi came back without fur on most of her body, just in time for the snow.   Apparently she has not been keen to go outside, even with a coat on.

Bobbi sitting on the chair in the conservatory, hoping that the sun will shine, so that she can begin her sun tan.

The Faesten Dic, looking bare and desolate in the winter.   I love this area of the woods, regardless of the weather.

Bobbi, in her warm coat, enjoying a walk in the woods.

Kylie came to visit for a few days last week, at a time when the snow was at its worst.   However, we  carried on regardless, and had a really lovely time.

We went in to London to see the stage production of 'Matilda' which we enjoyed very much. 

Kylie, Emma and me, all lined up in the theatre before the show.   It was actually lovely and warm, but we had not taken off our coats when the photograph was taken.   It was certainly bitterly cold outside, with icy streets.

The snow, so beautiful to look at, but with temperatures as low as minus five, no fun to be out in it.   The main roads were mainly well gritted, and the four wheel drive in our Skoda meant the car gripped the ground very well on all other roads.   This made driving very easy.   And the fact that the number of cars on the road was greatly reduced, made a huge difference too.

The view from the front of the house.   The photograph was taken through the front window, in the warmth of our centrally heated house.   Everything looks perfect in the morning sunshine.

Kylie and I went shopping in Bluewater, the huge shopping complex about a ten minute drive from our house.   There were hardly any shoppers there so we had a very pleasant and quiet time.   This does not happen often in Bluewater.

Kylie standing in the nearly deserted carpark.

I went for a couple of walks in the woods, which I thought I should do, as this will probably be the last time I will walk there in the snow.    Again breathtakingly beautiful, with the stark outline of the trees standing out against the white snow.    Most of the schools around us were closed, so the woods were filled with families enjoying sledging on the slopes.

The Faesten Dic area of the woods.

Our back garden, with the rhubarb trying to survive the cold temperatures.

On the last day of the snow, we had a bitingly cold strong wind, caused when the 'Beast from the East' temperatures met with 'Storm Emma' from the west.  Everything froze, including our new towels which I hung on the line, forgetting that the strong wind would freeze them rather than dry them. 

I have mended my old possum wool gloves, just in case.   I hope they last for the next few months.   I would like to explain that these gloves came from New Zealand where the imported possums, who cause havoc in the bush there, are allowed to be killed and their fur used in woollen hats and gloves.   I know many people will tut, tut over this.   However in their native Australian environment, possums are a protected species.  The possums cannot be sent back to Australia either, due to the diseases and pests they may have picked up in New Zealand. 

Very warm gloves though.

The snow has melted, and when I went up to the garden today I found the daffodils beginning to open up and the purple crocuses in full bloom.

Hopefully Spring has arrived and we can look forward to some warmer weather.