It is no wonder that this is a question I am getting asked almost daily in a year when we have had the most rainfall in any month, every month.
My husband enjoyed over 2 years of sunny golf and the current UK weather is doing nothing to make him feel that moving back was the right thing to do .... for him.
Me? I have no problem with the rain, the cooler temperatures and the constant moaning of people about 'when will our summer start?'
For me, I have the comfort of familiar surroundings, of friends and family in my life and in routines that make me feel each day has a purpose. I can deal with the rain.
As I look out of the window I see white fluffy clouds against deep blue skies and relish the thought of walking the dogs without the intense heat making every step a struggle for both me and the dogs. I relish the idea that I can get through the summer months without hibernating in hours of daylight, unable to move more than 10 metres from the air con units and I relish the fact that I have a lovely home that I am happy to spend time in when the weather isn't good, that I do not feel the need to spend every minute of every day outdoors.
I feel for my hubby and his wet golf but I am still very happy to be back in the UK.
Sorry sweetheart!
Showing posts with label Moving back to Sheffield. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moving back to Sheffield. Show all posts
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Friday, 16 December 2011
Picking up the threads.........
One of the comments made quite often to me in the days running up to our move to Spain was that, with technology, keeping in touch with friends and family has never been easier. And in a way, this is true. The internet is a great way to share photos and experiences, to chat to people and do it in a very inexpensive way. Even when we lived in areas where the internet was difficult to access from home, there was always bars and cafes we could go to and have a drink while using their computers.
But, I did find that very quickly I was losing touch with that feeling of being part of peoples lives. I felt I was sitting on the outside reading about it, but not actually sharing it with them.
It was something I struggled with.
My new friends in Spain told me it got easier with time, I actually found it got harder with time and each time I visited the UK, it was harder for me to get on a plane and go back.
Moving back after 3 years meant that I had to pick up the threads of those friendships again, catch up on the changes that had happened while we'd been away. Somehow, not sharing the changes and events meant they hadn't really registered with me even though I had been kept up-to-date with emails, photos, phone calls and visits.
It was just not the same.
It's this type of thing that you can't anticipate how you'll handle it. I was surprised how much it mattered to me. I was making new friends in Spain and meeting nice people but somehow, I missed my old friends and family being close by too much.
After 18 months back in the UK, I feel as if I have caught up with those missing years.
But, I did find that very quickly I was losing touch with that feeling of being part of peoples lives. I felt I was sitting on the outside reading about it, but not actually sharing it with them.
It was something I struggled with.
My new friends in Spain told me it got easier with time, I actually found it got harder with time and each time I visited the UK, it was harder for me to get on a plane and go back.
Moving back after 3 years meant that I had to pick up the threads of those friendships again, catch up on the changes that had happened while we'd been away. Somehow, not sharing the changes and events meant they hadn't really registered with me even though I had been kept up-to-date with emails, photos, phone calls and visits.
It was just not the same.
It's this type of thing that you can't anticipate how you'll handle it. I was surprised how much it mattered to me. I was making new friends in Spain and meeting nice people but somehow, I missed my old friends and family being close by too much.
After 18 months back in the UK, I feel as if I have caught up with those missing years.
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
It's taken 18 months but finally.......
It is well accepted in the UK that there is a shortage of places with NHS dentists. By moving abroad we were no longer registered with our old dentist and phoning around various surgeries on our return resulted in a complete lack of any NHS places being available.
And so, for 18 months, any treatment we've had has been paid for on a private basis. Not cheap but necessary.
On my last visit to have a broken tooth sorted I noticed the surgery we have been using has a notice up advertising that they were taking on NHS patients from this month.
So, finally, after 18 months, we have now manage to register as NHS patients and will now receive some funding towards our treatment. I think that's the last thing to sort since we moved back last summer. We are now totally back as UK residents, paying all our bills and taxes in one country.
Finally, I can close the folder and file it away.
And so, for 18 months, any treatment we've had has been paid for on a private basis. Not cheap but necessary.
On my last visit to have a broken tooth sorted I noticed the surgery we have been using has a notice up advertising that they were taking on NHS patients from this month.
So, finally, after 18 months, we have now manage to register as NHS patients and will now receive some funding towards our treatment. I think that's the last thing to sort since we moved back last summer. We are now totally back as UK residents, paying all our bills and taxes in one country.
Finally, I can close the folder and file it away.
Sunday, 11 December 2011
Organising the move back.
The main issue when organising the move back was to find someone to bring all our furniture and possessions back. The internet was a necessity for doing this as it saved us a fortune in phone calls.
We decided we wanted a UK company to move us back and needed someone with the facility to store our furniture if there was any delay in getting the keys to whichever house we were moving in to.
After a lot of searching and enquiries we chose our company to move us. We were aware that we would be a part load on a large van but doing it this way kept costs down. This however, means it's less easy to get firm dates. All they would tell us was that the van would be with us sometime during the week commencing - and until the week before they could not give us a definite day. This made it increasingly difficult to plan our trip home. After all if we didn't know whether the van would be here Monday or Friday, how could we book our tickets for the Channel Tunnel.
We did, however, manage to work with this, and trying our best to keep the stress levels under control, we packed everything we could and waited for the confirmed day. On the Monday of the week before we would be moving back, we finally we're told our shipment would be collected on the Friday of the following week. The van would spend the week dropping off part loads as it moved through the UK, France and southwards to us in the south of Spain and would arrive at us as an empty van.
Having collected our stuff it would then spend several days reversing the journey and finally estimated arriving with our stuff a week later.
This meant I could now plan the drive home, book the hotels for the overnight stops on the way home and book the Chunnel tickets.
If cost is not too big a consideration I would certainly book a dedicated company that only move your stuff on the van, but by using a shared van we halved our transport costs which, for us, was definitely worth doing.
We moved within 4 weeks of deciding to return to the UK so it was a fairly hectic and stressful time, however, it was definitely helpful that we'd already done the move out to Spain ourselves as we knew exactly what we needed to do and could just get on with it.
Such things as needing cardboard boxes. Our time in Spain had taught us that whatever you can buy off the internet in the UK, Spain has the same types of supplies. By finding out the spanish for cardboard box and googling it, I found a number of sites which would supply moving packs, cancellation of services is the same as in the UK and we even arranged the re-direction of our post. Jobs that 3 years earlier would have seemed so difficult to organise in a foreign country now all fell in to place without any bother.
I began to realise just how much we had learned during our time in Spain.
We decided we wanted a UK company to move us back and needed someone with the facility to store our furniture if there was any delay in getting the keys to whichever house we were moving in to.
After a lot of searching and enquiries we chose our company to move us. We were aware that we would be a part load on a large van but doing it this way kept costs down. This however, means it's less easy to get firm dates. All they would tell us was that the van would be with us sometime during the week commencing - and until the week before they could not give us a definite day. This made it increasingly difficult to plan our trip home. After all if we didn't know whether the van would be here Monday or Friday, how could we book our tickets for the Channel Tunnel.
We did, however, manage to work with this, and trying our best to keep the stress levels under control, we packed everything we could and waited for the confirmed day. On the Monday of the week before we would be moving back, we finally we're told our shipment would be collected on the Friday of the following week. The van would spend the week dropping off part loads as it moved through the UK, France and southwards to us in the south of Spain and would arrive at us as an empty van.
Having collected our stuff it would then spend several days reversing the journey and finally estimated arriving with our stuff a week later.
This meant I could now plan the drive home, book the hotels for the overnight stops on the way home and book the Chunnel tickets.
If cost is not too big a consideration I would certainly book a dedicated company that only move your stuff on the van, but by using a shared van we halved our transport costs which, for us, was definitely worth doing.
We moved within 4 weeks of deciding to return to the UK so it was a fairly hectic and stressful time, however, it was definitely helpful that we'd already done the move out to Spain ourselves as we knew exactly what we needed to do and could just get on with it.
Such things as needing cardboard boxes. Our time in Spain had taught us that whatever you can buy off the internet in the UK, Spain has the same types of supplies. By finding out the spanish for cardboard box and googling it, I found a number of sites which would supply moving packs, cancellation of services is the same as in the UK and we even arranged the re-direction of our post. Jobs that 3 years earlier would have seemed so difficult to organise in a foreign country now all fell in to place without any bother.
I began to realise just how much we had learned during our time in Spain.
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Settling back in the UK
Along side work was the need to find somewhere to live. While we had money tied up in Spain we would need to find somewhere to rent. Having worked in the Estate Agency business for over 20 years I have seen the trends where numbers of properties to rent increases as the sale market reduces. This was good news for us looking for a nice house in a nice area for a long term rental.
There were 2 things that would be a major issue in finding a suitable property - firstly, that we have 2 dogs and secondly, that we needed somewhere to either site or store the hottub which was definitely coming back from Spain with us.
The main concern was our dogs. They needed a secure rear garden, close to some good dog walking areas. As with Recruitment Agencies being a barrier to finding work, the Estate Agents can be a barrier to finding a suitable property.
The majority of agents make a standard clause on rental properties that simply states, no smokers, no pets, no DSS. And depending on who you speak to in the agents this is an unmoveable clause. But, if you put an offer to the agent they should relay this to the owner. I found a number of houses that were worth considering and all of the owners except one agreed to the dogs on the basis that I had offered them an increased bond against damages and that we would have any carpets cleaned on our departure.
Indeed, the one owner that initially said no, actually changed his mind and said he would permit the dogs so, it paid off knowing how to approach the agents on this.
The choice was made by where had storage for the hottub. There was potential for it to go in the garden but in the end we stored it in the garage for the first year.
I managed to find the house on my fact finding trip in May. The contract needed sorting out and that was not so easy to do while living in Spain, however the agent worked with me on proof of ID etc and we managed to get every thing in place for our return. We picked the keys up 2 days after arriving back in the UK. We had somewhere to live and somewhere for our furniture to be delivered to.
There were 2 things that would be a major issue in finding a suitable property - firstly, that we have 2 dogs and secondly, that we needed somewhere to either site or store the hottub which was definitely coming back from Spain with us.
The main concern was our dogs. They needed a secure rear garden, close to some good dog walking areas. As with Recruitment Agencies being a barrier to finding work, the Estate Agents can be a barrier to finding a suitable property.
The majority of agents make a standard clause on rental properties that simply states, no smokers, no pets, no DSS. And depending on who you speak to in the agents this is an unmoveable clause. But, if you put an offer to the agent they should relay this to the owner. I found a number of houses that were worth considering and all of the owners except one agreed to the dogs on the basis that I had offered them an increased bond against damages and that we would have any carpets cleaned on our departure.
Indeed, the one owner that initially said no, actually changed his mind and said he would permit the dogs so, it paid off knowing how to approach the agents on this.
The choice was made by where had storage for the hottub. There was potential for it to go in the garden but in the end we stored it in the garage for the first year.
I managed to find the house on my fact finding trip in May. The contract needed sorting out and that was not so easy to do while living in Spain, however the agent worked with me on proof of ID etc and we managed to get every thing in place for our return. We picked the keys up 2 days after arriving back in the UK. We had somewhere to live and somewhere for our furniture to be delivered to.
Saturday, 12 November 2011
1 Year On
We've had a week of grey skies and drizzle, a common occurence following Bonfire Night here in the UK, and the temperatures have definitely dropped a few degrees. And so, as we head into another winter with a variety of predictions as to how severe the snow will be, how long it will be until the sun appears again, I thought I'd reflect a little .
We've now been back in the UK for almost 18 months. In many ways our lives in Spain seems even longer ago. That's probably because I really do not miss it. Yes, I have the odd moment where I find myself thinking back to sitting in a cafe in Terreros watching the world go by, chatting with my friends over coffee. It is still a pretty place to live but when we went back for a visit in January there was no longing to be back or a feeling of missing home.
Equally, I see photos of the house in the mountains and have no sense of wanting to be back there.
I am very settled back here, love seeing my family & friends again and really enjoy work.
I often find myself in conversation with people who have the dream of retiring somewhere sunny, somewhere by the sea, somewhere to escape to - away from all the things they don't like about the UK, and I realised that actually that never was my dream. Spain was an accident for us, not a lifelong plan. So maybe that was why I never settled there.
I have no regrets about our Spanish adventure, and at least we will not look back in 10 years time and wonder 'what if'.
There is no doubt I needed a break from work to allow my health to recover and to enable me to get a better understanding of what my body will allow me to do now that the arthritis is in so many joints, and it was definitely a bonus to have that break in Spain. To be able to experience a different lifestyle, culture, location etc was a good experience. To actually organise it, make it happen and manage to find our way around the complex issues involved in relocating to another country was interesting, challenging and frustrating all at the same time - but we did it, and without too many mishaps.
It was probably more scary thinking about moving back, predominantly because one of the main reasons for coming back was that I wanted to work again. I missed going to work, I was not ready to retire, but I'd been out of the job market for 3 years. I'd left a good job that I'd been in for over 20 years due to ill health. Now, here I was, over 50, not worked for 3 years and hoping to find a job in the worse job market in 20 years - my timing couldn't have been worse.
The other issues surrounding a move back were all hinged on whether or not I would be able to find a job. We could afford to live in Spain without working (although that may not still be the case with the way prices over there have risen and the continuing rate of the euro) but the cost of living here meant that we needed an regular income. Where we lived depended on where I could find a job so I think looking back, there was a bigger risk involved in moving back than there was in going to Spain.
It was a huge gamble but as they say, if you want something bad enough, you can make it happen.
More soon.
We've now been back in the UK for almost 18 months. In many ways our lives in Spain seems even longer ago. That's probably because I really do not miss it. Yes, I have the odd moment where I find myself thinking back to sitting in a cafe in Terreros watching the world go by, chatting with my friends over coffee. It is still a pretty place to live but when we went back for a visit in January there was no longing to be back or a feeling of missing home.
Equally, I see photos of the house in the mountains and have no sense of wanting to be back there.
I am very settled back here, love seeing my family & friends again and really enjoy work.
I often find myself in conversation with people who have the dream of retiring somewhere sunny, somewhere by the sea, somewhere to escape to - away from all the things they don't like about the UK, and I realised that actually that never was my dream. Spain was an accident for us, not a lifelong plan. So maybe that was why I never settled there.
I have no regrets about our Spanish adventure, and at least we will not look back in 10 years time and wonder 'what if'.
There is no doubt I needed a break from work to allow my health to recover and to enable me to get a better understanding of what my body will allow me to do now that the arthritis is in so many joints, and it was definitely a bonus to have that break in Spain. To be able to experience a different lifestyle, culture, location etc was a good experience. To actually organise it, make it happen and manage to find our way around the complex issues involved in relocating to another country was interesting, challenging and frustrating all at the same time - but we did it, and without too many mishaps.
It was probably more scary thinking about moving back, predominantly because one of the main reasons for coming back was that I wanted to work again. I missed going to work, I was not ready to retire, but I'd been out of the job market for 3 years. I'd left a good job that I'd been in for over 20 years due to ill health. Now, here I was, over 50, not worked for 3 years and hoping to find a job in the worse job market in 20 years - my timing couldn't have been worse.
The other issues surrounding a move back were all hinged on whether or not I would be able to find a job. We could afford to live in Spain without working (although that may not still be the case with the way prices over there have risen and the continuing rate of the euro) but the cost of living here meant that we needed an regular income. Where we lived depended on where I could find a job so I think looking back, there was a bigger risk involved in moving back than there was in going to Spain.
It was a huge gamble but as they say, if you want something bad enough, you can make it happen.
More soon.
Thursday, 23 September 2010
This is home
I can't see that I have ever posted photos of our new home, despite LL asking me to, so apologies LL, here are a few especially for you:
And so, we start with the lounge - as you can see, the dogs don't do tidy.
This is my study:
I love the dining area:
And the kitchen
And this is a great place to relax in, a great place for conversation away from the TV.
The guest room has a bit of a colour clash - but hey, you're there to sleep and it does come with it's own bathroom!
And the garden is great for the dogs and totally safe!
And don't they just love it?
And so, we start with the lounge - as you can see, the dogs don't do tidy.
This is my study:
I love the dining area:
And the kitchen
And this is a great place to relax in, a great place for conversation away from the TV.
The guest room has a bit of a colour clash - but hey, you're there to sleep and it does come with it's own bathroom!
And the garden is great for the dogs and totally safe!
And don't they just love it?
Monday, 30 August 2010
Sleeping in Swimming Goggles.
As well as the Jag, there was one other item on Neil's wish list for moving back to the UK. He had always talked about having laser surgery on his eyes but while he was working, he had never got round to having it done. He wore contacts lenses and had glasses which used to cost about £350 each time he changed them.
Just before moving to Spain we both got new glasses with reactalite lenses and prescription sunglasses and even with discounts the bill was not much short of £1,000!
By the end of the first year in Spain, Neil's glasses were showing signs of scratching - even with an anti-scratch coating, because there is just so much dry dust there. You have to be really careful how you wipe your glasses to minimise the scratches.
As time progressed we noticed the reactalite coating seemed to be peeling off and eventually he reverted to an older pair of glasses as he was having difficulty seeing properly. By now 2 years had passed and any warranties were no longer relevant.
We did price up replacements in Spain but they were no cheaper there than here. All the adverts offering cheap glasses were the same in Spain as in the UK, not applicable to Neil's prescription.
We looked into laser surgery in Spain which is just as expensive as in the UK, and despite the adverts saying from £395 - for Neil you could multiply this by 10.
Before we had decided what to do in Spain about the surgery we had decided to move back and that finalised Neil's thoughts on what he wanted to do. The fact that he would be playing golf in rain more often here meant he wanted rid of his glasses. He had taken to wearing his contacts when playing golf but with his vision it meant he couldn't read small print, including texts on his mobile. The frustration over his sight was obvious. Just marking he scorecard was difficult.
Within a week of being back we had an appointment at a clinic in Sheffield. They did all the tests and confirmed he was suitable for surgery. He was scheduled for the following week.
The clinic were very keen that all his questions were answered and, while I wasn't too keen on knowing the details of the actual operation, they always included me in the discussions.
On the day of surgery Neil was obviously nervous and I tried to keep his mind of what was happening later in the day. We arrived for the appointment in plenty of time and joined a few others in a very quiet waiting room. There were a couple of large TV screens on the wall showing the golf tournament which helped pass the time, but made us chuckle as they were not tuned in very well so the picture was quite blurred. Considering we were in an optical clinic, I wondered how many people looked at the screen and thought their eyes needed more work!
Finally we heard them call Neil's name and I then began my lonely wait while they carried out the surgery. It seemed to take longer than others but after about 20 minutes he came out wearing his sunglasses.
The anaesthetic was still working so he wasn't in any pain and he had a bag full of drops to use. One of the main problems after surgery is dryness which will affect the healing so he had drops to help fight infection, drops to keep the eye moist and drops to encourage healing. He also needed to wear his sunglasses for 24 hours as his eyes would be more sensitive to light.
They had suggested the best thing to do when he got home was to sleep. As I don't think he had slept much the night before, it didn't take him long to fall asleep and he slept for a couple of hours. I had told him to take painkillers before he went to sleep so that as the anaesthetic wore off the painkillers would keep the pain at bay. It seemed to work.
Everything seemed to have gone Ok. One of the biggest no-no's is rubbing your eyes after surgery, yet there is a massive urge to do just that. During the day it's easy to control the urge but at night it's not.
And that's where the swimming goggles come in. They stop any attempt to rub or scratch the eyes while asleep - and they work very well. They just look really odd.
To be fair, they must be reasonably comfortable as they didn't stop Neil sleeping and by the time he woke the following morning his vision was starting to settle. He saw an immediate improvement in one eye, the other was slower to heal but now, a few weeks after surgery he is finding he doesn't have any problems at all. He still uses drops at night and he now needs reading glasses for small print but he can read his texts without his glasses.
There is an advert on TV where Podraig Harrington says how much laser surgery has helped his golf. Well, I'm sorry to say Neil cannot say the same - but it has improved his enjoyment of the game. And when it does rain, he doesn't have the problem of trying to keep the rain of his glasses.
Would I have it done?
No way.
And how do I cope on the golf course when it rains?
I stop playing and go into the club house for a coffee. It's so much cheaper than surgery!
Just before moving to Spain we both got new glasses with reactalite lenses and prescription sunglasses and even with discounts the bill was not much short of £1,000!
By the end of the first year in Spain, Neil's glasses were showing signs of scratching - even with an anti-scratch coating, because there is just so much dry dust there. You have to be really careful how you wipe your glasses to minimise the scratches.
As time progressed we noticed the reactalite coating seemed to be peeling off and eventually he reverted to an older pair of glasses as he was having difficulty seeing properly. By now 2 years had passed and any warranties were no longer relevant.
We did price up replacements in Spain but they were no cheaper there than here. All the adverts offering cheap glasses were the same in Spain as in the UK, not applicable to Neil's prescription.
We looked into laser surgery in Spain which is just as expensive as in the UK, and despite the adverts saying from £395 - for Neil you could multiply this by 10.
Before we had decided what to do in Spain about the surgery we had decided to move back and that finalised Neil's thoughts on what he wanted to do. The fact that he would be playing golf in rain more often here meant he wanted rid of his glasses. He had taken to wearing his contacts when playing golf but with his vision it meant he couldn't read small print, including texts on his mobile. The frustration over his sight was obvious. Just marking he scorecard was difficult.
Within a week of being back we had an appointment at a clinic in Sheffield. They did all the tests and confirmed he was suitable for surgery. He was scheduled for the following week.
The clinic were very keen that all his questions were answered and, while I wasn't too keen on knowing the details of the actual operation, they always included me in the discussions.
On the day of surgery Neil was obviously nervous and I tried to keep his mind of what was happening later in the day. We arrived for the appointment in plenty of time and joined a few others in a very quiet waiting room. There were a couple of large TV screens on the wall showing the golf tournament which helped pass the time, but made us chuckle as they were not tuned in very well so the picture was quite blurred. Considering we were in an optical clinic, I wondered how many people looked at the screen and thought their eyes needed more work!
Finally we heard them call Neil's name and I then began my lonely wait while they carried out the surgery. It seemed to take longer than others but after about 20 minutes he came out wearing his sunglasses.
The anaesthetic was still working so he wasn't in any pain and he had a bag full of drops to use. One of the main problems after surgery is dryness which will affect the healing so he had drops to help fight infection, drops to keep the eye moist and drops to encourage healing. He also needed to wear his sunglasses for 24 hours as his eyes would be more sensitive to light.
They had suggested the best thing to do when he got home was to sleep. As I don't think he had slept much the night before, it didn't take him long to fall asleep and he slept for a couple of hours. I had told him to take painkillers before he went to sleep so that as the anaesthetic wore off the painkillers would keep the pain at bay. It seemed to work.
Everything seemed to have gone Ok. One of the biggest no-no's is rubbing your eyes after surgery, yet there is a massive urge to do just that. During the day it's easy to control the urge but at night it's not.
And that's where the swimming goggles come in. They stop any attempt to rub or scratch the eyes while asleep - and they work very well. They just look really odd.
To be fair, they must be reasonably comfortable as they didn't stop Neil sleeping and by the time he woke the following morning his vision was starting to settle. He saw an immediate improvement in one eye, the other was slower to heal but now, a few weeks after surgery he is finding he doesn't have any problems at all. He still uses drops at night and he now needs reading glasses for small print but he can read his texts without his glasses.
There is an advert on TV where Podraig Harrington says how much laser surgery has helped his golf. Well, I'm sorry to say Neil cannot say the same - but it has improved his enjoyment of the game. And when it does rain, he doesn't have the problem of trying to keep the rain of his glasses.
Would I have it done?
No way.
And how do I cope on the golf course when it rains?
I stop playing and go into the club house for a coffee. It's so much cheaper than surgery!
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
How much more furniture won't fit?
We always expected to store the hot tub in the garage until we decided if we wanted it putting in the back garden, as wewill need a crane to lift it over the house! Not a simple process.
We then had to put 3 wardrobes in there as they wouldn't go through an arch in the hallway and turn 90 degrees to get up the stairs!
The 3 seater sofa was already in pieces to get it out of the last house, so that went on ok.
When I viewed the house I asked about the main bedroom and was told the bed in there was a King size, as is ours, so that was ok.
Or so we thought.
What I hadn't realised is that because we have a large bedhead and footer as well as the bed being King sized, when we put it altogether - the head would be against one wall and the foot would be against the other. If I wanted to nip to the loo in the night I would have to clamber over Neil.
Not ideal.
We decided to dismantle the bed and move ourselves to another room. It meant we weren't in the main bedroom with the built in wardrobes and en-suite, but hey, it will make a great guest room and they will have their own facilities.
Finally, we had the bed in place. Tomorrow we would dismantle the wardrobes, carry them upstairs and re-assemble them.
Time to charge up the screwdriver!
We then had to put 3 wardrobes in there as they wouldn't go through an arch in the hallway and turn 90 degrees to get up the stairs!
The 3 seater sofa was already in pieces to get it out of the last house, so that went on ok.
When I viewed the house I asked about the main bedroom and was told the bed in there was a King size, as is ours, so that was ok.
Or so we thought.
What I hadn't realised is that because we have a large bedhead and footer as well as the bed being King sized, when we put it altogether - the head would be against one wall and the foot would be against the other. If I wanted to nip to the loo in the night I would have to clamber over Neil.
Not ideal.
We decided to dismantle the bed and move ourselves to another room. It meant we weren't in the main bedroom with the built in wardrobes and en-suite, but hey, it will make a great guest room and they will have their own facilities.
Finally, we had the bed in place. Tomorrow we would dismantle the wardrobes, carry them upstairs and re-assemble them.
Time to charge up the screwdriver!
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Moving In.
We were so busy sorting out the cars that we were almost too late for our appointment to get the keys for the house. When we arrived, 15 minutes late, having telephoned the office to ask them to let the guy know we were on our way, we were met by a very unhappy chap. He was busy checking the house, making notes of it's condition, taking photos of areas that were a problem, so it's not as if he'd been hanging about waiting for us but he was determined to be grumpy with us.
Finally, having agreed meter readings with him, he left and we looked around our new home. The pups quickly inspected every room and ran outside. It took Neil and I a little longer to go through all the rooms talking about what furniture would go where, when our furniture eventually arrives.
And then my mobile rang.
It was the removal guys.
Now remember, this was Tuesday. They weren't supposed to be leaving Southern France until Wednesday so I was a little surprised to get a call from them.
The call went something like this:
We're just leaving London heading north and should be in Sheffield by 6ish. Are you able to take delivery of your furniture tonight?
What? When? How.....? Doesn't matter. Yes, yes, yes.
It turns out that the pick-up in France had cancelled so they had been able to travel through the last few days and rather than take the furniture to the depot to be unloaded, only to be re-loaded onto another van another day, they wanted to bring it straight to us.
By 9pm we had all our furniture in the house, the hot tub was in the garage along with 3 wardrobes that wouldn't go up the stairs and the guys had parked their van on our drive for the night. We had a final night in the hotel and early the following morning we would be able to start unpacking.
It could not have worked out better if we'd used a bespoke removal company.
It meant we would have chairs to sit on and a bed to sleep in as well as all our clothes again, not that we had any wardrobes to put them in unless we wanted a trip into the garage every morning.
The overall removal experience had taken less than 4 weeks and looking back I have no idea how we planned it, organised it and then did it in such a short time.
Amazing what you can achieve when you put your mind to it!
Finally, having agreed meter readings with him, he left and we looked around our new home. The pups quickly inspected every room and ran outside. It took Neil and I a little longer to go through all the rooms talking about what furniture would go where, when our furniture eventually arrives.
And then my mobile rang.
It was the removal guys.
Now remember, this was Tuesday. They weren't supposed to be leaving Southern France until Wednesday so I was a little surprised to get a call from them.
The call went something like this:
We're just leaving London heading north and should be in Sheffield by 6ish. Are you able to take delivery of your furniture tonight?
What? When? How.....? Doesn't matter. Yes, yes, yes.
It turns out that the pick-up in France had cancelled so they had been able to travel through the last few days and rather than take the furniture to the depot to be unloaded, only to be re-loaded onto another van another day, they wanted to bring it straight to us.
By 9pm we had all our furniture in the house, the hot tub was in the garage along with 3 wardrobes that wouldn't go up the stairs and the guys had parked their van on our drive for the night. We had a final night in the hotel and early the following morning we would be able to start unpacking.
It could not have worked out better if we'd used a bespoke removal company.
It meant we would have chairs to sit on and a bed to sleep in as well as all our clothes again, not that we had any wardrobes to put them in unless we wanted a trip into the garage every morning.
The overall removal experience had taken less than 4 weeks and looking back I have no idea how we planned it, organised it and then did it in such a short time.
Amazing what you can achieve when you put your mind to it!
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Last leg of the journey.
It was nice getting up knowing that we had a shorter day of driving. In total it would take us just over 3 hours to do our final leg of the trip but we were having a short stop to meet up with my brother first.
As we headed for the M25 to start our journey North I offered to drive the last couple of hours so that Neil could relax and listen to the World Cup match between England and Germany. We stopped at services, as we joined the M1, and swapped over just as the match was about to kick off. Which ever way the match went, it was likely to cause some distraction for Neil from his driving, not a good idea when you're travelling at 70+ mph.
The match started well enough, but soon began to go down hill and the frustration for Neil finally peaked when at 4-1 he switched the radio off in disgust. England were out of the World Cup to our archive rivals. We would be arriving at our new home in England just as the euphoria of the World Cup came to an abrupt end. I hoped this wasn't an omen.
And so, by 5pm we were settled into our hotel, which would be home for the next couple of days. It was Sunday and we would be getting the keys to the house on Tuesday. The pups were used to living in hotel rooms by now and soon made themselves at home while we went for some dinner. We could only leave the pups in the room providing we were somewhere in the hotel, if we left the hotel, the pups had to go out with us. It meant that we were a little restricted in where we could go as the weather was too warm for us to leave them in the car for very long but, we had decided our first job would be to sort a UK car out as driving the left hand drive Spanish car was not ideal on the English roads and we could certainly take the dogs with us while we car hunted.
Before leaving Spain we had contacted some companies in the UK that dealt in LHD cars, so we had an idea how much we would be able to sell it for. Not as much as we would if we'd sold it in Spain, but we needed something to drive back in and decided we would use a LHD company over here to sell it on for us.
After dinner I settled down with my laptop to start searching for cars for us to look at, that was something that could easily be done while we waited for Tuesday to arrive.
Neil had been really good in agreeing to move back to the UK, as he had been really well settled in Spain but, he had attached a couple of conditions. The main one involved the car he wanted. His dream was to own a Jaguar, S-type. Always had been as long as I have known him, almost 13 years. I'd agreed with him that IF he could find one for the same amount as we would get for selling the Spanish car - he could have one.
His shopping list was:
Jaguar S-type
Diesel
Sat Nav
Red
After an hour on the internet we had a list of garages to visit, the first 3 wishes were no problem, the colour was a little trickier. I had always been told when buying a 2nd hand car you can choose almost anything but the colour. Red was not a common colour so Neil had resigned himself to the fact he may have to have a green one, or a silver one. We planned our route for Monday to visit the various garages which had cars that fitted the wish list and then we settled down for the evening, knowing tomorrow would not be another long distance drive.
After 2,500km we had finally arrived.
Our Spanish adventure was over.
As we headed for the M25 to start our journey North I offered to drive the last couple of hours so that Neil could relax and listen to the World Cup match between England and Germany. We stopped at services, as we joined the M1, and swapped over just as the match was about to kick off. Which ever way the match went, it was likely to cause some distraction for Neil from his driving, not a good idea when you're travelling at 70+ mph.
The match started well enough, but soon began to go down hill and the frustration for Neil finally peaked when at 4-1 he switched the radio off in disgust. England were out of the World Cup to our archive rivals. We would be arriving at our new home in England just as the euphoria of the World Cup came to an abrupt end. I hoped this wasn't an omen.
And so, by 5pm we were settled into our hotel, which would be home for the next couple of days. It was Sunday and we would be getting the keys to the house on Tuesday. The pups were used to living in hotel rooms by now and soon made themselves at home while we went for some dinner. We could only leave the pups in the room providing we were somewhere in the hotel, if we left the hotel, the pups had to go out with us. It meant that we were a little restricted in where we could go as the weather was too warm for us to leave them in the car for very long but, we had decided our first job would be to sort a UK car out as driving the left hand drive Spanish car was not ideal on the English roads and we could certainly take the dogs with us while we car hunted.
Before leaving Spain we had contacted some companies in the UK that dealt in LHD cars, so we had an idea how much we would be able to sell it for. Not as much as we would if we'd sold it in Spain, but we needed something to drive back in and decided we would use a LHD company over here to sell it on for us.
After dinner I settled down with my laptop to start searching for cars for us to look at, that was something that could easily be done while we waited for Tuesday to arrive.
Neil had been really good in agreeing to move back to the UK, as he had been really well settled in Spain but, he had attached a couple of conditions. The main one involved the car he wanted. His dream was to own a Jaguar, S-type. Always had been as long as I have known him, almost 13 years. I'd agreed with him that IF he could find one for the same amount as we would get for selling the Spanish car - he could have one.
His shopping list was:
Jaguar S-type
Diesel
Sat Nav
Red
After an hour on the internet we had a list of garages to visit, the first 3 wishes were no problem, the colour was a little trickier. I had always been told when buying a 2nd hand car you can choose almost anything but the colour. Red was not a common colour so Neil had resigned himself to the fact he may have to have a green one, or a silver one. We planned our route for Monday to visit the various garages which had cars that fitted the wish list and then we settled down for the evening, knowing tomorrow would not be another long distance drive.
After 2,500km we had finally arrived.
Our Spanish adventure was over.
Friday, 6 August 2010
Getting connected!
When we moved to Spain we knew that, technically, we were not supposed to have Sky TV but, there were ways to receive the Sky channels providing you can keep a UK address. Most people use an address for a family member or a friend, and we were no different. We couldn't get all the channels we could in the UK but we got enough to give us the variety we needed.
Not long after we arrived in Spain our Sky+ box developed a problem and wouldn't do any of the Sky+ features, such as record or set program reminders, and so it was just a receiver for the programs. To get past the problem of it not recording we bought a DVD recorder, which worked fine except we could only record the channel we were watching so if we went out and forgot to put the tv onto the right channel, we missed our program.
There wasn't much we could about it in Spain and so we just carried on with the old Sky box.
Now that we are back in the UK it was time to get the box sorted out and finally, we had the Sky engineer here yesterday who installed a new box, an upgraded dish and left us with a brand new remote. Last night we spent all night playing about with the record facility, series links and instant pause - just because we could.
Next week we get our phone line installed and proper broadband again. All this and mobile reception at the house, I really feel as if we are back in the modern age.
Not long after we arrived in Spain our Sky+ box developed a problem and wouldn't do any of the Sky+ features, such as record or set program reminders, and so it was just a receiver for the programs. To get past the problem of it not recording we bought a DVD recorder, which worked fine except we could only record the channel we were watching so if we went out and forgot to put the tv onto the right channel, we missed our program.
There wasn't much we could about it in Spain and so we just carried on with the old Sky box.
Now that we are back in the UK it was time to get the box sorted out and finally, we had the Sky engineer here yesterday who installed a new box, an upgraded dish and left us with a brand new remote. Last night we spent all night playing about with the record facility, series links and instant pause - just because we could.
Next week we get our phone line installed and proper broadband again. All this and mobile reception at the house, I really feel as if we are back in the modern age.
Photos for Linda Lou
The Eurotunnel train is effectively a train engine pulling a very long container full of vehicles. I have lifted the following photos from other websites to show you the outside and inside. I cannot take any credit for these photos but they will show you what the eurotunnel train is like.
Photos from:Wednesday, 4 August 2010
Finally, back in England
For those of you outside the immediate area of the channel tunnel, I should explain.
The channel tunnel is exactly what it says a tunnel under the English Channel connecting Folkestone, England to Calais, France. It takes about 35 minutes to cross under the Channel this way and we had never used the tunnel before so I thought it would be nice to use it on our trip. There were 2 main advantages to us, one being how quick it is and the second being that our beloved pups would stay with us in the car throughout the crossing. For any new readers, on our trip to Spain we used the overnight ferry and this is what Brinkley wrote about his experience.
http://2littlepuppies.blogspot.com/2008/05/weve-moved-to-spain-and-its-brill.html
Not one we wanted to repeat.
We had to keep an eye on the electronic boards around the car park which would tell us when we were to proceed to the holding stage of the terminal and we saw the lights change just before midnight. Suddenly there was a dash by all the cars parked nearby. We were happy to follow others as we didn’t know where we were going and we were channelled towards a kiosk where a guy checked our tickets and sorted us into the right lanes, cars, 4x4 cars, cars with top boxes, caravans, coaches and lorries all needed to be sorted. We were behind 2 mini-buses and we all sat there waiting for the time to tick away. Boarding would begin at 12.10.
Finally, the time arrived for us to start our engines and move forward. We followed the 2 mini-buses and then came a bit of a shock, when the marshall at front held up the 2 buses and waved us ahead. We didn’t know where we were going. We followed the lane around a corner and looked for signs of where to go. Suddenly we realised that we needed to drive down a very steep slope. As we approached the bottom of the slope we could see another marshall way in the distance, with a clip board and we headed towards them. As we got closer we could see there was an opening on the left hand side ahead of us and the marshall waved us into it. Getting a car in isn’t a problem but I can imagine some of the larger lorries and coaches having problems. Apparently, they have one chance at it and have to get it right or they can’t get straightened up to drive along the train.
We started our drive along the train and the front seemed so far away I began to think we were actually going to be driving the whole way under the sea. Eventually, we arrived at the front of the train and switched of the engine. Within a few minutes everyone was on board and we set off on time. There is no sense of movement because there are no windows to see out of. There is a little noise but nothing much at all. We could get out of the car and walk alongside the cars if we wanted to but the dogs had to stay in the car, not that it was a problem, the dogs were extremely settled. They had the back seats all to themselves and they had found the whole journey perfectly comfortable. They sometimes slept a little but mostly they stayed alert, not wanting to miss out on any excitement.
Before we knew it, we were driving off the train in Folkestone. We had done the passport control bit as we went through the terminal in Calais so we were straight out onto the roads and off looking for our hotel. This time our directions were spot on and within 10 minutes we were checking in for the night.
We were in Folkestone, back in England.
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
Cats, paperwork and delays!
Q. What happens now?
A. Get a later train!
And that's all there is to it.
What us newbie Channel Tunnel users didn't know is that your booking is valid for anything from 2 hours ahead of time to 2 hours after the time booked. So if you miss a train, you get a later one and if you are early, you can get an earlier train.
Simple!
We checked the schedule and there were 3 more trains listed. 11.45pm, 12.30am and 1.15am
Even with the delays at the Pet office we were hopeful of getting one of the later trains. We both let out our breath that we hadn't realised we were holding!
And so, to the delays. It seems that the couple at the counter had 3 cats and some of the paperwork wasn't right. I think it was an issue with the paperwork for the rabies blood tests which is crucial for entering the UK. The lady behind the counter didn't normally work there and was on her own and was trying to be as helpful as she could, considering the language difficulties BUT she had been trying to sort this out for 2 hours.
Yes, some people had been waiting 2 hours and seen trains leave that they should have been on.
So, even if we had arrived in plenty of time to catch the train we still wouldn't have been on it because the dogs would still be queuing for their tickets to be stamped - approved to travel!
All that dashing had been for nothing, but we weren't to know.
We took a seat and settled in for the wait.
As we waited another couple arrived, dog in hand desperate to get seen as they were late, had driven like demons through northern France only to find - they were going to miss their train anyway. We could explain it all to them, after all, we were experts now!
After a further 15 minutes the couple with the cats were dismissed to go and find a local vet to confirm the papers that were being faxed through from wherever and finally we all started to get dealt with.
The main problem then seemed to be with vanishing microchips. Judging on the number of chips that were proving difficult to locate, we all felt it was probably the machine that needed new batteries but eventually it was our turn.
Brandy, as always, was calm and we located his microchip quite easily. Brinkley is never happy when you go towards with him with some kind of instrument in your hand, scissors, syringes and scanners are all treated with contempt and an immediate need by him to hide behind my legs. We know that Brinkley's chip has moved and instead of being on the back of his neck, it's now over one of his shoulder blades. We know this because a few months ago we discovered this lump on his shoulder and thought he had been stung or bitten. After a few days of applying cream I realised that it wasn't a bite at all, just his microchip on its travels. I had been warned that this sometimes happens.
Eventually we heard the beep of the machine finding his chip and both dogs were verified as fit to travel and we headed back to the car.
We drove through to the check-in machines and entered our booking code and the ticket machine spat out our tickets for the 12.30am train. We had over an hour to wait but we were happy, we would travel tonight after all. I rang the hotel in Folkestone to let them know we had been delayed (not a complete surprise to them as I think they get a lot of Chunnel users staying there) and we would be arriving with them about 12.30am. The tunnel is magic, it makes time stand still, we would arrive the same time we left.
No, of course not. France is an hour ahead of the UK, we would merely be turning our watches back an hour.
We parked up and went for a wander to find a café. It had been a very long day and it wasn't over yet, but at least we could chill for a little while.
Monday, 2 August 2010
Euro Tunnel, here we come.
The scenery in northern France is not as extreme as that in the south, or it didn't seem so to us, but that could be because of the speed at which it was passing by!!!!
Without any stops and with, thankfully, clear roads we approached the channel tunnel terminal just as the clock clicked onto to 10pm. We had 20 minutes to our ticket time. We had to get the dogs scanned and checked in at the Pet office and then through to the tunnel terminal. We might just make it after all.
We pulled into the car park and hurried the dogs to the office............
............only to find there was a queue.
There was one attendant on the desk. There were 3 cats (in baskets) on the desk. There were 4 dogs and 2 more cats before us and nothing was happening.
On the wall behind the desk was a large electronic notice board announcing that boarding for our train was closed.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
As Neil was inside the office trying to find out what was happening I started to ask the people outside with the animals. We only wanted the answer to one question
- what happens now?
Without any stops and with, thankfully, clear roads we approached the channel tunnel terminal just as the clock clicked onto to 10pm. We had 20 minutes to our ticket time. We had to get the dogs scanned and checked in at the Pet office and then through to the tunnel terminal. We might just make it after all.
We pulled into the car park and hurried the dogs to the office............
............only to find there was a queue.
There was one attendant on the desk. There were 3 cats (in baskets) on the desk. There were 4 dogs and 2 more cats before us and nothing was happening.
On the wall behind the desk was a large electronic notice board announcing that boarding for our train was closed.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
As Neil was inside the office trying to find out what was happening I started to ask the people outside with the animals. We only wanted the answer to one question
- what happens now?
Sunday, 1 August 2010
The length of France in a Day!
We calculated that to reach Calais for our Channel tunnel train at 10.20pm Saturday we would need to leave our hotel no later than 8am. Our route planner said it was 13 hours and 13 mins and we had, of course, to factor in stops every 3 hours for the pups and allow time incase we encountered traffic, especially the closer we got to Paris.
I had asked about breakfast when we had finally checked in the night before only to be told it was served from 9am. OK, so we would need to find somewhere for breakfast on the road. The reception would be open at 8.30am so we would also need to leave before they were open for us to pay!
Mmmmmh!
I had given our credit card details when I checked in and so I wrote a note in my best Spanish to say we had needed to leave early for our channel crossing and would they charge our room to the card and if there were any problems to ring me on my mobile and slid it under the door to reception.
We left hoping we would not be challenged by the Guardia at the border for trying to leave the country without paying our bills.
As we left the hotel complex and started back along the country lanes we came to a junction. To retrace our steps last night we should have turned right but Neil felt we could probably get back onto our route better by turning left. 50 yards along this lane we came to a main road, only to find it was the lane we had used to turn around in last night and if they had put a sign at this junction we would have saved an hour driving around in the dark and had an extra hour in bed.
We called at the first service station to refuel the car and ourselves and then we were on our way, heading for the border between Spain and France.
The border crossing was huge, there must have been 24 lanes and being a Saturday, there was plenty of traffic there. It took us a few seconds to work out which lane we needed and queued behind several cars towing caravans. We had to keep remembering about the top box so we didn't go under anything with a height restriction.
And so we were in France.
By now we were ready for a break and a re-fuel so we pulled into the first services. As Neil went in to pay and to get some coffees I walked the pups around and then gave them a drink. Now, our dogs have a talent for drinking from of a bottle and this saves carrying dishes about. As I was giving them a drink several people smiled at how cute they looked.
One chap stopped to talk to me and this is when life got a little surreal. He was French. I don't speak French. He didn't speak English BUT he was married to a Spanish lady and so we found our common language for a conversation was Spanish. I never expected to find my Spanish studies would come in handy while travelling through France.
I have to say the area that we travelled through in the south of France was beautiful and there was some very striking scenery, huge bridges across ravines and very pretty villages. It helped pass the time as we made our way north.
We kept our stops to a minimum and by the time we approached Paris we were making good time. We were due to take the outer ringroad around Paris and I knew my navigation skills would be tested to their extreme.
There were many road numbers to look for and Neil did a great job switching lanes as we went from 3 lanes to 6 lanes to 4 lanes, as lanes left and more joined. I kept a close eye on the signs overhead and guided him to the right lane for the road numbers indicated on my printed route.
And then all of a sudden none of the road signs had the right numbers on, none of the places quoted were on my list and I had to make a snap decision.
And it was the wrong decision!
Suddenly we were on the inner ringroad on a Saturday afternoon and within minutes we were at a standstill. We then crawled around Paris anti-clockwise. We needed to follow signs out of Paris for Lille and the overhead neon-signs were telling us that we were 45 minutes from the junction and there was nothing we could do but sit in traffic and crawl along with the thousands of other cars trying to get away from Paris.
Suddenly, our channel crossing looked unlikely. As we left the inner ringroad and joined the motorway to Lille our routeplanner told us we had 3 hours 30 minutes drive to our destination and we had 2 hours and 30 minutes to our check in time.
All we could do was hope there were no more hold ups and no police about. Neil put his foot to the floor and I avoided looking at the speedometer and kept my eyes peeled for speed cameras. Instead of arriving with time to spare we would be lucky to make it before the train departed.
We needed some luck to be on our side!
I had asked about breakfast when we had finally checked in the night before only to be told it was served from 9am. OK, so we would need to find somewhere for breakfast on the road. The reception would be open at 8.30am so we would also need to leave before they were open for us to pay!
Mmmmmh!
I had given our credit card details when I checked in and so I wrote a note in my best Spanish to say we had needed to leave early for our channel crossing and would they charge our room to the card and if there were any problems to ring me on my mobile and slid it under the door to reception.
We left hoping we would not be challenged by the Guardia at the border for trying to leave the country without paying our bills.
As we left the hotel complex and started back along the country lanes we came to a junction. To retrace our steps last night we should have turned right but Neil felt we could probably get back onto our route better by turning left. 50 yards along this lane we came to a main road, only to find it was the lane we had used to turn around in last night and if they had put a sign at this junction we would have saved an hour driving around in the dark and had an extra hour in bed.
We called at the first service station to refuel the car and ourselves and then we were on our way, heading for the border between Spain and France.
The border crossing was huge, there must have been 24 lanes and being a Saturday, there was plenty of traffic there. It took us a few seconds to work out which lane we needed and queued behind several cars towing caravans. We had to keep remembering about the top box so we didn't go under anything with a height restriction.
And so we were in France.
By now we were ready for a break and a re-fuel so we pulled into the first services. As Neil went in to pay and to get some coffees I walked the pups around and then gave them a drink. Now, our dogs have a talent for drinking from of a bottle and this saves carrying dishes about. As I was giving them a drink several people smiled at how cute they looked.
One chap stopped to talk to me and this is when life got a little surreal. He was French. I don't speak French. He didn't speak English BUT he was married to a Spanish lady and so we found our common language for a conversation was Spanish. I never expected to find my Spanish studies would come in handy while travelling through France.
I have to say the area that we travelled through in the south of France was beautiful and there was some very striking scenery, huge bridges across ravines and very pretty villages. It helped pass the time as we made our way north.
We kept our stops to a minimum and by the time we approached Paris we were making good time. We were due to take the outer ringroad around Paris and I knew my navigation skills would be tested to their extreme.
There were many road numbers to look for and Neil did a great job switching lanes as we went from 3 lanes to 6 lanes to 4 lanes, as lanes left and more joined. I kept a close eye on the signs overhead and guided him to the right lane for the road numbers indicated on my printed route.
And then all of a sudden none of the road signs had the right numbers on, none of the places quoted were on my list and I had to make a snap decision.
And it was the wrong decision!
Suddenly we were on the inner ringroad on a Saturday afternoon and within minutes we were at a standstill. We then crawled around Paris anti-clockwise. We needed to follow signs out of Paris for Lille and the overhead neon-signs were telling us that we were 45 minutes from the junction and there was nothing we could do but sit in traffic and crawl along with the thousands of other cars trying to get away from Paris.
Suddenly, our channel crossing looked unlikely. As we left the inner ringroad and joined the motorway to Lille our routeplanner told us we had 3 hours 30 minutes drive to our destination and we had 2 hours and 30 minutes to our check in time.
All we could do was hope there were no more hold ups and no police about. Neil put his foot to the floor and I avoided looking at the speedometer and kept my eyes peeled for speed cameras. Instead of arriving with time to spare we would be lucky to make it before the train departed.
We needed some luck to be on our side!
Starting the drive north.
One thing I needed to make sure on this trip was that when we arrived in Sheffield, Neil was not without his golf clubs. When we moved out to Spain, our furniture was delayed by 3 weeks and the golf clubs were with the furniture. Neil was not a happy man.
Using a groupage removal means there can be delays on when your furniture arrives. We had been quoted anything between 5 and 14 days, although they thought we would be one of the earlier drop offs as the storage depot was in Sheffield, one reason we chose this company.
Although we were due to arrive in Sheffield on Sunday evening, the van wasn't due to leave France until the Wednesday and had a couple of days travelling before they got to the depot.
We had the luxury of travelling in the big car going home unlike the journey to Spain, but we didn't have room for Neil's golf clubs if we wanted to take the dogs AND suitcases with clothes in.
Not a problem, we got a top box. Neil's clubs & golf trolley fitted in lovely and we even managed to get some bedding packed around them so we had something to use while we waited for the van to bring our stuff. We wouldn't have a bed, but we we have some bedding! Whilst night time temperatures in Spain meant we were throwing covers off at night, it was still cool enough in the UK to need a quilt.
It was 6.30pm when we finally got onto the motorway and started heading north. Our destination was 5 and a half hours away, not including stops and we would need a couple of stops for the dogs. We had a cool-box filled with sandwiches and drinks so we could keep the stops as short as possible and we knew we would be arriving late.
What I hadn't realised was that I had chosen a hotel that didn't have a 24 hour reception. Fun and games were waiting for us in northern Spain.
We were headed for L'Ampolla. I had chosen the distance based on leaving about 4pm and the hotel on the basis it was right on the side of the motorway so we would not be spending too long trying to find the hotel once we reached the area.
How wrong can you be?
We reached L'Ampolla around midnight and started looking for the hotel as we came off the motorway. We knew we didn't want to be in town or on the sea-front so we took the road away from the town. Within a few minutes we were heading out into the countryside without a building to be seen anywhere. It felt wrong and after a few more minutes we decided we would be better to turn around and try another route. The map I had printed off was not helpful. We found a narrow lane to turn around in and headed back. As we entered the town I noticed sign boards with lists of hotels on them and direction arrows - and ours was listed so we started to follow the signs.
And follow the signs.......
And follow the signs.......
We had gone right through the town and along the sea-front, which, even at mid-night , was buzzing with people. Then suddenly, as happens, our hotel had vanished of the list but we hadn't seen it.
We turned around again and as we drove back I notice a sign-post off to the left with the hotel name on it. We followed the arrow.
Out of civilisation and into the open countryside. We lost tarmac roads and even drove through a large storm drain but we were still following the arrows. Finally, after a few more twists and turns, we saw a large sign at the entrance to the hotel - we have been driving around for almost an hour. It was almost 1am and we were both ready to fall into bed. It had been a long day.
Before dragging the case into the hotel we decided we would check-in and find out where we were going and also give the pups time to have a bit of a walk around. We reached the door to the hotel reception ..... and it was locked. My lack of attention to detail when I booked had failed to notice that it wasn't manned 24 hours a day.
We wandered around the carpark with the dogs and chatted about our options. We could have a few hours in the car before setting off or we could just carry on driving and take it in turns to drive and sleep. In the end we decided we would carry on driving. Before we got back to the car Neil suggested I should ring the hotel number and leave a message to say we arrived but they were closed so we couldn't book in, in the hope that they would not charge us for the room, so I rang the number and instead of an answering machine cutting in, a rather sleepy man answered.
In my best Spanish I explained what had happenend and he told me to wait a few minutes and he would come down and let us in.
And so, we did get to sleep in a bed that night. We needed to be on the road early to make Calais by 10pm the next day but at least we could have a few hours sleep.
A long day was finally over.
Using a groupage removal means there can be delays on when your furniture arrives. We had been quoted anything between 5 and 14 days, although they thought we would be one of the earlier drop offs as the storage depot was in Sheffield, one reason we chose this company.
Although we were due to arrive in Sheffield on Sunday evening, the van wasn't due to leave France until the Wednesday and had a couple of days travelling before they got to the depot.
We had the luxury of travelling in the big car going home unlike the journey to Spain, but we didn't have room for Neil's golf clubs if we wanted to take the dogs AND suitcases with clothes in.
Not a problem, we got a top box. Neil's clubs & golf trolley fitted in lovely and we even managed to get some bedding packed around them so we had something to use while we waited for the van to bring our stuff. We wouldn't have a bed, but we we have some bedding! Whilst night time temperatures in Spain meant we were throwing covers off at night, it was still cool enough in the UK to need a quilt.
It was 6.30pm when we finally got onto the motorway and started heading north. Our destination was 5 and a half hours away, not including stops and we would need a couple of stops for the dogs. We had a cool-box filled with sandwiches and drinks so we could keep the stops as short as possible and we knew we would be arriving late.
What I hadn't realised was that I had chosen a hotel that didn't have a 24 hour reception. Fun and games were waiting for us in northern Spain.
We were headed for L'Ampolla. I had chosen the distance based on leaving about 4pm and the hotel on the basis it was right on the side of the motorway so we would not be spending too long trying to find the hotel once we reached the area.
How wrong can you be?
We reached L'Ampolla around midnight and started looking for the hotel as we came off the motorway. We knew we didn't want to be in town or on the sea-front so we took the road away from the town. Within a few minutes we were heading out into the countryside without a building to be seen anywhere. It felt wrong and after a few more minutes we decided we would be better to turn around and try another route. The map I had printed off was not helpful. We found a narrow lane to turn around in and headed back. As we entered the town I noticed sign boards with lists of hotels on them and direction arrows - and ours was listed so we started to follow the signs.
And follow the signs.......
And follow the signs.......
We had gone right through the town and along the sea-front, which, even at mid-night , was buzzing with people. Then suddenly, as happens, our hotel had vanished of the list but we hadn't seen it.
We turned around again and as we drove back I notice a sign-post off to the left with the hotel name on it. We followed the arrow.
Out of civilisation and into the open countryside. We lost tarmac roads and even drove through a large storm drain but we were still following the arrows. Finally, after a few more twists and turns, we saw a large sign at the entrance to the hotel - we have been driving around for almost an hour. It was almost 1am and we were both ready to fall into bed. It had been a long day.
Before dragging the case into the hotel we decided we would check-in and find out where we were going and also give the pups time to have a bit of a walk around. We reached the door to the hotel reception ..... and it was locked. My lack of attention to detail when I booked had failed to notice that it wasn't manned 24 hours a day.
We wandered around the carpark with the dogs and chatted about our options. We could have a few hours in the car before setting off or we could just carry on driving and take it in turns to drive and sleep. In the end we decided we would carry on driving. Before we got back to the car Neil suggested I should ring the hotel number and leave a message to say we arrived but they were closed so we couldn't book in, in the hope that they would not charge us for the room, so I rang the number and instead of an answering machine cutting in, a rather sleepy man answered.
In my best Spanish I explained what had happenend and he told me to wait a few minutes and he would come down and let us in.
And so, we did get to sleep in a bed that night. We needed to be on the road early to make Calais by 10pm the next day but at least we could have a few hours sleep.
A long day was finally over.
Friday, 30 July 2010
Back to the Story
So, there we both were awaiting the arrival of the removal van, knowing that as well as moving the contents of our home we also had the 2m square hot tub to move. Having moved it once before we knew what we were dealing with and we had re-affirmed it at least 3 times to the removal company so we were hopeful that the guys were prepared for some hard work. With us being a groupage move we didn't know whether we would be first on the van or last on the van, and what would happen if we were last on and there wasn't enough room? We had a hotel booked 5 hours north for that evening - we couldn't hang around.
There was so much going through our heads while we sat outside enjoying the Spanish sunshine that it was a great relief when 2 guys walked round the corner and said, 'Hi, are you waiting for a removal van?'
'Oh, yes......... errr, where is it?'
'Well, we have the big van so we've left it at the top of the track to make sure a) we're in the right place and b) that it will actually get down the track.'
So, while we put the kettle on they walked back to get the van.
15 minutes later we were no longer worried that the van wouldn't be big enough or that there wouldn't be enough room. This was what we saw driving down our track.
There was so much going through our heads while we sat outside enjoying the Spanish sunshine that it was a great relief when 2 guys walked round the corner and said, 'Hi, are you waiting for a removal van?'
'Oh, yes......... errr, where is it?'
'Well, we have the big van so we've left it at the top of the track to make sure a) we're in the right place and b) that it will actually get down the track.'
So, while we put the kettle on they walked back to get the van.
15 minutes later we were no longer worried that the van wouldn't be big enough or that there wouldn't be enough room. This was what we saw driving down our track.
It was huge and it was empty, we were their first pick up. Just one small problem, while it had come down the track OK, it wouldn't go round to the front of the house without one of the wheels going over the edge of the drop to the rambla bottom - so they reversed it as far as they could along the side of the house and it meant everything had to be carried or wheeled on their little trolley across the 20 meters from the house to the van.
Mmmmmh! Hot Tub!
They decided they would tackle the hot tub first. Neil had removed the flyscreens from the front of the house and the discussion ended with us upending the hot tub onto it's side, wheeling it across to the van and then dropping it onto the edge of the van and all 4 of us heaving it up onto the van.
1, 2, 3, and it was onto it's side and across onto the wheels.
Pushing a 2 meter high hot tub on a small trolley across an unmade stretch of land is not easy, but after several minutes we were at the van. It had already been decided that there was no way we could push it up the ramp as the floor of the van was about 4 feet of the road, but if we could lower it so one edge was on the edge of the van we should be able to lift and slide it into place. All we had to do was tilt it over without the wheels slipping from underneath and without the hot tub ending up flat on the floor. It had to be in the perfect position as there was less than an inch gap between the side of the hot tub and the van door.
1, 2, 3, and it was in position for the lift.
Now, I don't know how heavy a hot tub is but 4 of us did manage to get it up and onto the van - just.
Time to put the kettle on again.
It was by far the hardest part of the day and over the next few hours everything got moved from the house to the van so that by late afternoon we were ready to lock the door. The 2 guys worked really well and stacked everything to take as little space as possible as we had underestimated how much room we needed and they had 2 more pick-ups to make, one in southern France and one in northern France. If the south of France pick-up also had more stuff than they thought, northern France may not get on the van. Still, our stuff was on, that's all that mattered to us.
We had one final walk around the house, said goodbye to the Meerkats and Big Dog with a few biscuits and put the pups into the back of the car.
Thursday, 29 July 2010
A quick view of our new dog walks.
This is home
This is the view
A couple of hundreds yards up the road, past the Rugby club we cross over a little river
And onto the canal banks. And even though there is a road running along part of the canal, it's on the other side and totally safe for the pups to meander along off their leads.
As we get towards town, about half an hour's walk from home, we start to reach some canal side apartments opposite the cricket club.
We have several locks along the stretch of canal we walk.
And such tranquil walks during the week, not another person in sight, although weekends are a little busier.
This is the viewA couple of hundreds yards up the road, past the Rugby club we cross over a little river
And onto the canal banks. And even though there is a road running along part of the canal, it's on the other side and totally safe for the pups to meander along off their leads.
My favourite tree on the walk is this amazing weeping Willow, how gorgeous is this tree?
As we get towards town, about half an hour's walk from home, we start to reach some canal side apartments opposite the cricket club.
We have several locks along the stretch of canal we walk.
And such tranquil walks during the week, not another person in sight, although weekends are a little busier.
How lucky are we to have this on our doorstep?
Oh, and of course, if we walk in the other direction for 20 minutes - we have a lovely pub with an outdoor area on the canal banks. A great place to stop for refreshements before heading back home.
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