I guess you could say that
our removal day started just after midnight when Nathan (finally) returned home
after having a few farewell pints with Robbie. According to Nathan, those last few were Robbie’s idea but,
given Robbie is half his size (and a Scotsman who we all know are renowned for
their frugalness), I did suggest that this was a rather dubious excuse!!
We were up bright and early
Wednesday morning as we still had to get the kids fed and dressed and off to
school. Today was a party day at
school so (not so) conveniently they were to go dressed in mufti – yet more
winter clothes we would somehow have to find room for in our luggage! Today was also (again conveniently!)
officially the coldest day of the year and everything was winter wonderland
white. I at least was able to
drive the kids to school as we had had our ‘Brethren’ bus replaced by a
slightly smaller automatic Ford Galaxy.
A
frosty wonderland at school
Some
very festive icicles from the front porch
(Don’t
you just love the mould patches caused by the surface being constantly wet due to
a broken drain pipe above!)
By the time I arrived home
from the school run the packers were already in full swing. First off were packed the 16 air freight
boxes into which we crammed as much linen and kitchen goods as possible. These should take (fingers crossed)
only a few weeks to arrive whereas the remainder of our goods would be sent sea
freight, which could take upwards of three months.
At one stage there was a slight
panic (on my behalf) when the lead removalist expressed concern about getting
everything to fit on the truck.
Turns out that they would be able to take everything but that, if over
our allowance, we would be charged for the excess. Given that we had chosen to purchase some of our hire
furniture this was hardly very surprising.
Nathan was highly amused by
the constant references made to my collection of Tupperware with the guys more
than once threatening to simply write “Tupperware shop” on our inventory! I really don’t think there were any
grounds for such comments as: “More bloody plastic. Surprise, surprise!”
A
couple of pictures of our organised chaos:
We had somehow managed to
arrange for the hire furniture to be picked up today as well which, given there
were goods in the hire furniture that required packing, was not the smartest of
moves. Luckily, the guys were
running very late leaving the packers time to clear top two floors before
things were being hauled down the stairs.
All
hands on deck
There is always something
very discomforting about having to sit around and watch other people do all the
work. Given it was also literally
freezing all day and the house was as open as a tent, it was also quite a
chilly prospect for Nathan and I.
By the time Nathan picked up Abbey we were almost able to see the light
at the end of the tunnel. It took
until 1630 before we were able to lock up and drive away from an empty house
with fingers crossed that we would eventually see all our possessions again!
We had been booked into The
Methuen Arms, on Corsham’s High Street, for the removal period, which I think
was quite fitting given our preference for English pubs! Our room was blessedly large given the
number of suitcases we were toting but the enchanting pitched roof and low
doorways were going to prove a nightmare for Nathan!!
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