It's Friday. I've baited Social services and they've bitten. chewed and spat out. Having won i can do something a bit more challenging, something that's going to jazz the old brain cells...like an auction.
Off i go, having perused the wares the previous night, made my notes, consulted the oricle...Gooogle and the like and priced up.
A quick second look incase i've missed something.
I survey the auction rooms to see which dealers are present.
The white haired guy with the Aussie hat nods to me...we've parcelled things up before. He likes clocks, oil lamps and needlework.
The big dealers are out in force, many from the big cities, who all deal in the quality furniture market, one guy i know from the capital who also has a retail outlet locally.
Some of them clock me, nod, smile, or glance a recognition....we are all sussing the oposition.
The biggest danger are those we don't know, the newcomers, those ordinary people, who quite often will bid stupid ammounts and drive up prices. They are the ones the auctioneers are looking for.
I saw a nice pine set of bedroom chest of drawers, normally they would go for £20. They went for just under what you would pay for them new....2 people were in the room who wanted them. They also wanted the beds i wanted.
Another day another auction!
A fridge freezer went for £35.00...I was hoping to get it for £5.00
There was a murmer of incredulity...someone behind me said they're mad, another, thats daft.
Thing is the economy is upside down, it's hard to tell what something is worth.
I was there to get the sofa, it was a bit flowery for my taste, but comfortable.
Just the thing for lounging in front of the telly!
There were some nice water coloures and a few pots, the maker of which i've been collecting. An Alfred Meakin dinner set i liked loads but not enough to put in a further bid.
The piece de resistance for me was perhaps an oak dresser, dating to around the date of the house we are buying.
I thought I'd better consult Mr H, after all this was quality and i thought would go for about £900.
A considerable sum for us to spend.
A little old lady saw me looking at the piece and declared she had been told it would reach 6-9 hundred but that a lot of dealers were there and it might reach £1300
She was very exited and a little detective work indicated that she had the same initials as indicated the seller.
Don't be dupped!
The bidding started and Mr H was close by...£600, 650, 700, 750, 800, 850, 900, 950 and i bid a £thousand. £1050, 1100, £1100 i bid, i looked to see if that was ok and Mr H was missing....1150, 12000, £1250 and my hand went up 1300...etc.
I was out and so was Mr H.....I found him in the foyer, head in hands muttering.
It's ok it's at £1500 i said. He looked up in horror.....
No, not us.
US! You mean you his eyes said and then they registered we didn't need to find £1500 we havn't got.
It is not often i can get him in the seat of his pants....well not unless i'm driving.
Actually i'm sad. Nice house, nice dresser, just not meant to be......just yet.
Friday, 17 October 2008
Friday, 5 September 2008
Rain Rain and more Rain
Now I'm beginning to feel rather greedy regarding rain and really i feel we should be sharing it with Australia or the Gobi desert.....
We've been lucky this year as we went to Brittany for 3 weeks and saw the sun. I've only seen the sun three times since and with more rain on the horizon and it expected to be torrential today there is only one thing that might make a difference.
I have declared it is the grand lighting of the Aga day....if it will lite, a sauna like kitchen is bound to bring out a late autumn swelter in the sunshine department.
Anyway I'm fed up of salads, time for some rich creamy soups and curry.
In all fairness it's very nice of me to declare the lighting of the Aga but it will be a long day of toil, soot, oil, swearing, heavy lifting, singed eyebrows and more swearing for Mr H.
Consequently Mr H is all together less happy about my declaration.
We've been lucky this year as we went to Brittany for 3 weeks and saw the sun. I've only seen the sun three times since and with more rain on the horizon and it expected to be torrential today there is only one thing that might make a difference.
I have declared it is the grand lighting of the Aga day....if it will lite, a sauna like kitchen is bound to bring out a late autumn swelter in the sunshine department.
Anyway I'm fed up of salads, time for some rich creamy soups and curry.
In all fairness it's very nice of me to declare the lighting of the Aga but it will be a long day of toil, soot, oil, swearing, heavy lifting, singed eyebrows and more swearing for Mr H.
Consequently Mr H is all together less happy about my declaration.
Thursday, 4 September 2008
11 years old and big school
Friday today and the first week in big school is taking it's toll.
Little ninja bouncing Tigger is wandering around in a daze, complete with PJ's and sleepy eyes.
The breakfast spoon seems heavier than usual and his normal superspeed reflexes and quick repartee is missing.
Simple questions such as wholemeal or white rolls in your packed lunch? tax his almost dormant thinking.
I can see he is going to need a lot of help or he will have a detention for not having his tie, a detention for not having his PE kit and a detention for leaving his books at home....something will have to give.
Big D finds his rucksack and packs his lunch for him, Beth helps him with his tie, berrating him continuously as she does so, threatening much earlier bed times next week if he's going to make them all late for school.....I'm beginning to think i'm redundant as a mother!
I find his kit for games and little D finds his trainers.
Branny finds an envelope to hold money and a permission slip for a rugby trip and Mr H starts the van and beeps the horn urgently.
As they pour out the door, little ninja Tigger declares he doesn't want to be a big ninja Tigger!
Growing up, responsibilities....i feel for him.
Little ninja bouncing Tigger is wandering around in a daze, complete with PJ's and sleepy eyes.
The breakfast spoon seems heavier than usual and his normal superspeed reflexes and quick repartee is missing.
Simple questions such as wholemeal or white rolls in your packed lunch? tax his almost dormant thinking.
I can see he is going to need a lot of help or he will have a detention for not having his tie, a detention for not having his PE kit and a detention for leaving his books at home....something will have to give.
Big D finds his rucksack and packs his lunch for him, Beth helps him with his tie, berrating him continuously as she does so, threatening much earlier bed times next week if he's going to make them all late for school.....I'm beginning to think i'm redundant as a mother!
I find his kit for games and little D finds his trainers.
Branny finds an envelope to hold money and a permission slip for a rugby trip and Mr H starts the van and beeps the horn urgently.
As they pour out the door, little ninja Tigger declares he doesn't want to be a big ninja Tigger!
Growing up, responsibilities....i feel for him.
Looks like it's red gooey stuff in a very hot place without any darlings with wings or trumpets!
At last we have gone to see the house for real.
Now I know all about travellers, hippies and eco warriors and being a positive person I thought I'd prepared myself for mayhem.
I often joke that i live with a bloke that hasn't decided whether his hero is Steptoe or Dell boy from Only Fools and Horses.
Bearing in mind we often as human beings model ourselves on who we admire....be very very sorry for me!
No one and I repeat no one could have prepared themselves for the property or the vendor we saw today.
He described himself as a wizard, but surely even wizards have to touch down occasionally with reality.
Flying away on his magic carpet he showed us where we could put a geodeasic dome, where he had put his sauna, complete with nudes on the wall and a massage bed....knocking shop or what?
We could put a tarp over an outbuilding and rent it out to the local council...the fact it had no water, sewarage, electricity seemed to have passed him by.
Wave his magic wand!
The outbuilding had full planning permission for conversion to residential....residential what?
The roof was a combination of wood tin and perspexe and the homemade staircase was a deathtrap!
Mr H was very keen i go and look....silly man he's the one with a will!
The main house, a typical Pembrokeshire house probably dating back to the early 1800's was delightful from the outside....inside I'm not sure what is holding up the kitchen/dining room which is on the first floor.
I love the steps and balcony leading from the outside,through beautiful french doors into the kitchen....i can see Mr H and I having morning coffee there in the early spring sunshine....after all it will probably be too wet the rest of the year!
Two large sycamore trees are to the rear of the property, complete with tree house platforms and rickety steps....Perhaps i should get the kids to write wills?....and to the south a large pond with an island and a man Friday hamock.
All i need now is a man Friday!....Calling Mr H!
The mad vendor maybe a wizard after all becaue i am enchanted. I leave Mr H to haggle while i sit in a dubiously constructed deckchair in the rain thinking...Heaven!
Now I know all about travellers, hippies and eco warriors and being a positive person I thought I'd prepared myself for mayhem.
I often joke that i live with a bloke that hasn't decided whether his hero is Steptoe or Dell boy from Only Fools and Horses.
Bearing in mind we often as human beings model ourselves on who we admire....be very very sorry for me!
No one and I repeat no one could have prepared themselves for the property or the vendor we saw today.
He described himself as a wizard, but surely even wizards have to touch down occasionally with reality.
Flying away on his magic carpet he showed us where we could put a geodeasic dome, where he had put his sauna, complete with nudes on the wall and a massage bed....knocking shop or what?
We could put a tarp over an outbuilding and rent it out to the local council...the fact it had no water, sewarage, electricity seemed to have passed him by.
Wave his magic wand!
The outbuilding had full planning permission for conversion to residential....residential what?
The roof was a combination of wood tin and perspexe and the homemade staircase was a deathtrap!
Mr H was very keen i go and look....silly man he's the one with a will!
The main house, a typical Pembrokeshire house probably dating back to the early 1800's was delightful from the outside....inside I'm not sure what is holding up the kitchen/dining room which is on the first floor.
I love the steps and balcony leading from the outside,through beautiful french doors into the kitchen....i can see Mr H and I having morning coffee there in the early spring sunshine....after all it will probably be too wet the rest of the year!
Two large sycamore trees are to the rear of the property, complete with tree house platforms and rickety steps....Perhaps i should get the kids to write wills?....and to the south a large pond with an island and a man Friday hamock.
All i need now is a man Friday!....Calling Mr H!
The mad vendor maybe a wizard after all becaue i am enchanted. I leave Mr H to haggle while i sit in a dubiously constructed deckchair in the rain thinking...Heaven!
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
To sell ..To buy....Both but which?
Ah the joys of selling a house are as nothing compared with the joys of buying a house!
Harangued and under siege by estate agents from all directions, buyers, sellers and the kids all wanting to know where we will be living at Christmas.
I'm a pretty untidy person, but i am organized....everything I've tidied up for a viewing is in a cupboard, chest of drawers, under the bed or in the van.
Have you seen....? is a common question asked of me.
Where is....? is another.
Under the stairs? In a cupboard? Under a bed? In the van? is a more common answer.
It was funny when the viewers opened the door to the under stairs cupboard and were bombarded by an avalanche of sleeping bags unpaired socks and t shirts.
It is with great delight that i can now return the favour and know that someone has frantically been tidying up, dressing rooms and hoovering the carpets.
Houses with windows opened when it's windy and wet are damp and those smelling of perfume and patchouli oil have pets or kids who wee the bed.
There is something voyeuristic about looking around someones house and it's very difficult not to make some sweeping judgements.
We went to view a house and partly renovated cottage this morning...It looked sad, abandoned and overgrown.
The cottage looked as if a chaotic magician had started some spells and had got distracted halfway through.
Later, after much digging around on the Internet we discovered the chap had indeed thought himself a bit of a wizard.
I just know that is where we will end up living....Mr H was enchanted.
I am far less susceptible to magical influences and thought..."deep red gooey liquid in a very hot place!".....work it out!
On the way home, we received a call from an estate agent we are not even looking at houses with or is selling ours to ask us had we put an offer on another house that she had on her books.
Indeed we had.....and she informed us that there was likely to be an acceptance of the offer. So now we are in hiding, awaiting to see if an offer will be accepted on the magicians property before we make a decision.
Meanwhile the buyer ai champing at the bit.
Life is never dull living with Mr H.
Harangued and under siege by estate agents from all directions, buyers, sellers and the kids all wanting to know where we will be living at Christmas.
I'm a pretty untidy person, but i am organized....everything I've tidied up for a viewing is in a cupboard, chest of drawers, under the bed or in the van.
Have you seen....? is a common question asked of me.
Where is....? is another.
Under the stairs? In a cupboard? Under a bed? In the van? is a more common answer.
It was funny when the viewers opened the door to the under stairs cupboard and were bombarded by an avalanche of sleeping bags unpaired socks and t shirts.
It is with great delight that i can now return the favour and know that someone has frantically been tidying up, dressing rooms and hoovering the carpets.
Houses with windows opened when it's windy and wet are damp and those smelling of perfume and patchouli oil have pets or kids who wee the bed.
There is something voyeuristic about looking around someones house and it's very difficult not to make some sweeping judgements.
We went to view a house and partly renovated cottage this morning...It looked sad, abandoned and overgrown.
The cottage looked as if a chaotic magician had started some spells and had got distracted halfway through.
Later, after much digging around on the Internet we discovered the chap had indeed thought himself a bit of a wizard.
I just know that is where we will end up living....Mr H was enchanted.
I am far less susceptible to magical influences and thought..."deep red gooey liquid in a very hot place!".....work it out!
On the way home, we received a call from an estate agent we are not even looking at houses with or is selling ours to ask us had we put an offer on another house that she had on her books.
Indeed we had.....and she informed us that there was likely to be an acceptance of the offer. So now we are in hiding, awaiting to see if an offer will be accepted on the magicians property before we make a decision.
Meanwhile the buyer ai champing at the bit.
Life is never dull living with Mr H.
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Water..Slugs..Indian Floods and a Hurricane
Brittish summer...well, it's rained. Rained and rained some more!
Even the slugs seem a bit waterlogged and are creeping their slime filled way into the house.
Trails of glistening slug gloop accross the floor, over discarded jumpers, trainers and socks.
Cabbage gorged they seek shelter from the persistant rain.
They could have had it worse, were they an Indian slug....washed away in monsoon rains....or New Orlean slugs exhorted to leave their homes for higher dryer lands.
Strange that slugs, so universally slimey can be treated so differently.
Even the slugs seem a bit waterlogged and are creeping their slime filled way into the house.
Trails of glistening slug gloop accross the floor, over discarded jumpers, trainers and socks.
Cabbage gorged they seek shelter from the persistant rain.
They could have had it worse, were they an Indian slug....washed away in monsoon rains....or New Orlean slugs exhorted to leave their homes for higher dryer lands.
Strange that slugs, so universally slimey can be treated so differently.
Back to school soon as in imminently
Hooray!
The school holls are so very nearly over.
Shirts, blouses, trousers, socks, jumpers, skirt, trainers, shoes....for 6 children.
Mega pounds.
Rucksacks, pencils, pens, calculators......don't need one of them to know there's no money left for lunch.
Listen kids it's going to cost £75.00 per week for you lot to have lunch in school....so guess what you are going to have packed lunch.
Much cheaper but one hell of a lot of work. I've worked out that if i get up half an hour earlier i can provide the kids with a balanced meal for half the price.
The kids are crestfallen....salad,fruite,rice, bread, yoghurt and the occasional chocci biscuit or even a packet of crisps.
YUKK!! YucK!
The 6th formers, and Beth, oh how nice they had planned to be to Beth, who would always go to the shop accross the road and get them crisps, fizzy pop and SWEETS.
Will we have money for drinks said little D?
What's wrong with corporation pop? I said.
Water from the tap?.....eh nothing! They said a little feebly.
We might not pay tuition fees but the state system of education in Britain seems to cost more and more each year.
Computers, printers and the more expensive ink, memory sticks, musical instruments and hockey sticks, bats, balls, trainers, shorts and special socks and shirts to tell which school you belong to.
You want to do geography GCSE?
Can you afford to send yor child on a course, that's a necessary part of the examination?
£93.00
It was a struggle for us and we are quite well off. How can a working class or especially a child from a non working family do geography?
Cover your books with film to keep them safe from being kicked around and getting wet, pens, pencils, rubbers, rulers, calculators.
We say education is for all..equal opportunity so long as you can afford to cover your books.
The school holls are so very nearly over.
Shirts, blouses, trousers, socks, jumpers, skirt, trainers, shoes....for 6 children.
Mega pounds.
Rucksacks, pencils, pens, calculators......don't need one of them to know there's no money left for lunch.
Listen kids it's going to cost £75.00 per week for you lot to have lunch in school....so guess what you are going to have packed lunch.
Much cheaper but one hell of a lot of work. I've worked out that if i get up half an hour earlier i can provide the kids with a balanced meal for half the price.
The kids are crestfallen....salad,fruite,rice, bread, yoghurt and the occasional chocci biscuit or even a packet of crisps.
YUKK!! YucK!
The 6th formers, and Beth, oh how nice they had planned to be to Beth, who would always go to the shop accross the road and get them crisps, fizzy pop and SWEETS.
Will we have money for drinks said little D?
What's wrong with corporation pop? I said.
Water from the tap?.....eh nothing! They said a little feebly.
We might not pay tuition fees but the state system of education in Britain seems to cost more and more each year.
Computers, printers and the more expensive ink, memory sticks, musical instruments and hockey sticks, bats, balls, trainers, shorts and special socks and shirts to tell which school you belong to.
You want to do geography GCSE?
Can you afford to send yor child on a course, that's a necessary part of the examination?
£93.00
It was a struggle for us and we are quite well off. How can a working class or especially a child from a non working family do geography?
Cover your books with film to keep them safe from being kicked around and getting wet, pens, pencils, rubbers, rulers, calculators.
We say education is for all..equal opportunity so long as you can afford to cover your books.
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