What are you all up to
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I've always been a bit cautious about going to Meathrop as it looks like the immediate approach road is a bit iffy, if you go on Google maps. However, someone on here (apologies, can't remember who now), said it was OK, so I may well give it a try later on this year.
We're still at Castleton. Nice bright day today, but rather cold. We're been down to Bakewell today, the back via Monsal Dale and Winnetts Pass.
12 Serviced pitches, here at Castleton - 8 of them being used (one by us 😀). The site has plenty of room, but there are quite a few about...
David
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Just about to post on here and I pressed a wrong button so lost the lot I had typed grr grr.
A good useful b/day Goldie and belated b/day wishes to you and WN's OH.
Well a friend of ours has had his father pass away late Sunday with all the family with him in a hospice and after moving there last Wednesday so a lot to do now and our other friend her brother in Southern Ireland is very ill in hospital after being there for 10 weeks and came home for xmas and now back in hospital again and things are not good as his wife has a trerrible cold and cannot visit him at present.
We do have the sun today hooray washing done and dried even though it was a bit chilly but with the sun on your face it is great.
We had a semi detached bungalow in Somerset and here we are detached with one and a half acre of land but it is a field and OH does the grass cutting with a ride on mower which he enjoys although the ground is lumpy and not really level but in the summer everything dries out so no mowing then but we are happy with it as folk said challenging gardening here.
We have folk around here that wear shorts most of the year but not many as the locals do wrap up from October to June far too much we think.
Take care folks.
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Lovely sunny day here in MK but cold with a bit of a cold breeze. I like to give the motorhome a run out every now and then when its not being used. Today was also an opportunity to test the back gate (mentioned in a previous post) with the rotting posts! If we opt for concrete supports to be put in place we won't be able to tie the gate fully back and it will have to open only at right angles so today was a bit of a test. It just means the gate juts out into the road by about a yard, so less than a parked car's width. So getting it in and out of the garden did not prove to be a problem although Margaret was not so keen on leaving it sticking out into the road whilst I was away on my run out! Motorhome back in place and gates closed I rang the fencing man we have used before and he is coming out on Saturday to look at it.
David
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After a frosty night today has been a fine sunny day, but rather chill with the temperature not getting above 5C. We had a pleasant drive up the Lyth Valley and through to Bowness, returning via Windermere. We had a few short walks at Crosthwaite, Winster and Staveley. Our last night tonight of our 30 night trip, using 1 Commercial site, 1 C&CC site, 1 CC site and 4 CLs, at an average cost of about £18:35 pn.
Came across this bonny Clapper Bridge outside Crosthwaite over the River Gilpin.
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Spent the day driving around Fife looking at properties (from the outside) looked at 6 all in different towns/villages.
Only 1 fitted what we are looking for, photos are very deceptive. What looks like a nice long flat driveway is in fact short and not flat, trees behind a property appear further away than they actually are. Big gardens have shrunk into small gardens 😒 1 fits the bill but it's advertised through Purple Bricks which are a nightmare to get a hold of.
We have seen another place that is perfect not far outside Perth but can we afford it 🤔 and it's on a road.
Whatever we do OH just has to sort out his shed because there is no way we are packing up and moving all his junk, sorry his fine collection of interesting bits and bobs 🤣
Someone coming to give us a valuation on Friday 🤞🤞 it's a good one.
Going on holiday next week isn't perfect timing but hey ho it has to be done.
Today was supposed to be sunny, it was in Fife but when we got home the SP meter had not moved so guess it didn't make it to Perth. The hills had the sun on them on our drive back which looked stunning as they are snow covered. All glowing pink and white with blue skies above 😊
It was great having a day out even if we didn't do much but cross off properties.
Hope everyone else's day was productive or at least enjoyable.
Baker's, the thought of moving again after staying put for 32 years is both terrifying and exciting. We've already crossed off properties that need too much doing to them, happy to do something but not about to tackle a full on refurb. We've also discussed what we could do here if we decide to stay, I think it will be the bedrooms getting a complete makeover. Oh for the good weather so we can get away and stop planning, winter always makes us think too much 🤣
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Not too bad a day here, cold, but at least not wet, even a bit of sun.
Our first day back looking after the little people, at least Mummy did not need us to shop for her.
OH has had Nathan's cold, I have a sore throat, and DD is in a bad way, coughing, crackly chest, and has been suffering from bad headaches the last few weeks. She has an appointment next week with her GP regarding the headaches as it is not something she usually has a problem with.
Callum was also coughing a lot overnight, but seemed better today.
OH has a knee problem, started a few of months back, only one works reasonably well now. She also has neck problems, but, after an X-ray, apparently only "wear and tear".
As we have all our living rooms upstairs, and most bedrooms downstairs, we may need to look at getting a stair lift if she gets any worse. We can move into the upstairs bedroom and bathroom, but she would still need to use the stairs for getting up here and using the utility room. Walking around is mainly OK, but she is getting quite slow now.
Like you, TG, we have considered moving, but we really do not want to. We like where we are, we are near family, and we know the house, having had it built back in 1988. We have renewed a few things, white goods of course, plus hob, oven, extractor fans, some lights, some additions in the kitchen, and 2 new bathrooms, but that is as much as we intend to do, other than anything that might need repaired.
It is quite quiet here, the neighbours on one side were noisy 35 years back, but they are long gone, the new neighbours now have teenagers, but we never hear them. Very few of the houses in our street have changed hands in the last 35 years, so we are now all getting "elderly", On the other side, our neighbour lost her husband about 5 years back, and 3 doors down the husband died suddenly last year. Plus....we are allowed to have our caravan on the driveway, no restrictions.
Fife has many nice areas, we lived there for 5 years, in Dalgety Bay, and OH has a school friend in Aberdour who we visit every year if possible. Good luck with your search!
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Thanks David. You should have no problem getting into Meathop, there are few large twin axle vans and a large 5-wheeler this week, and the pitches are large.
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Not as sunny as yesterday but felt warmer although we did have a little rain. We had an easy journey home this morning. Van cleared out and most of the washing done, and drying around the house. Trip to Tesco etc tonight to restock on foodstuffs.
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Don’t even want to think about the moving thing. We have been here for 39 years this year. We have built on 3 times over those years. The year after covid lockdown we put our house on the market and had two offers in the first two weeks. The one we accepted bought it online! They didn’t actually come to see it for many weeks after, like most they were moving here from away. We put offers in on 5 different houses, each time being outbid by many people and by many, many thousands over the asking price but not being told we were unsuccessful until weeks later. On the last house we offered way over the asking price but found out later that the successful purchasers had offered £45,000 over the asking price. So fed up and disappointed at this time we took ours off the market. A year later, when things had settled we tried again, 3 local people were interested but couldn’t sell theirs and still haven’t, 9 months later and we have decided to stop where we are, it’s all just too much hassle. The market has swung in completely the other direction, with prices dropping like stones, few houses locally seem to be selling. One of our neighbours has had to put theirs on the market, 18 months and nothing. Two years ago everyone was moving from away to here, recently an estate agent we know told us that quite a few are now moving back as they have now been called back to the office and commuting is harder than they imagined. Our siting room is now being completely redecorated, new fireplace and carpet. Then a new kitchen. Hopefully less hassle and disappointment. Good luck TG, maybe it’s different in Scotland.
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"but when we got home the SP meter had not moved "
2 cracking days, on both we never used any grid lecce between 1100 hrs and 1530 hrs, so SP's working hard, and front lounge, that has many windows is south facing so very little gas also, there are some benefits from living south of Watford gap, although temp never got above freezing yesterday, some puddles still frozen when i went out on my bike, very frosty this morning, conservatory roof frozen over.
OH off for xrays on foot today but she has done some good walking this week so hopefully with some physio she will improve further, we have booked our first trip away to Peranporth beginning of May, cant book sooner as Spanish daughter coming home for Easter and to go before April kicks in is generally too cold for us, getting soft in our dotage.
Did some work on the caravan yesterday in preparation nothing major took covers of motor mover and gave them a squirt of oil and put some grease round some of the moving parts of the hitch, not going to have the mobile svc mechanic this year as we only did approx 1k miles with the van last year,
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We've got a viewing today of the property outside Perth, it's on the other side of the Tay river to us.
Looks to have everything we are after, did a drive by yesterday but need to see inside and get a feel for the place.
Our ever thoughtful neighbours (not) let their dog out early this morning then left her barking to get in for ages 😡 so wide awake and up hours ago. OH can sleep through most things and if woken turns over and goes back off again. I can't, wish I could. I hear everything, doors banging, dog barking, kids shouting to each other, even drawers being banged shut. They are up early and late to bed, can't see that changing anytime soon.
Sun's out so will get the washing machine on, think we will get a good day on the SPs the sky is clear 😊
Have a good day.
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On our estate of 35 houses two are for sale, both a bit over priced in my view? One couple at the back of us are looking for a bungalow. The strange thing is that about two years ago they extended and built a downstairs toilet/shower room.
The thought of moving horrifies me, especially as it would require a major de-cluttering exercise! Going forward one potential issue is not having a downstairs toilet, two upstairs but non down. The upside is we get plenty of exercise! I am not quite sure what we would do if we felt the house was getting too much for us? Perhaps book ourselves into the Extra Care Village over looking Willen Lake which I romantically refer to as Colditz
David
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The thought of moving horrifies me, especially as it would require a major de-cluttering exercise!
Couldn't agree more. We looked into downsizing a couple of years ago and moving into one of the retirement villages. Apart from decluttering we thought the expense of moving and the maintenance costs of these place high and decided we were better off staying where we are and paying for help if we ever need it.
peedee
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Our last ‘build on’ was another bedroom and en-suite the other side of the house, now when we have visitors we are sleeping away through two doors. (Handy when the whole family is here) Also added a downstairs loo but it had to be a saniflow, not ideal but ok for the last 8 years.🤞 OH talked about a bungalow but I’m really not keen, get my exercise going up and down, and here they are pricey for little space. Should the worst happen we could use our dining room as a bedroom as room in the lounge for table and chairs. Our young neighbours have been here 14 years and are lovely, one little, long awaited, daughter. Once when we had to call an ambulance for our granddaughter he came in the next morning to check we were ok as he thought it was for us. Always a problem if they move though but guess that could happen anywhere. The neighbours behind can be noisy, owls screeching, birds singing and I won’t even mention the flipping woodpecker banging 😂
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Absolutely agree.... we've been here 45 years. Don't see the point of moving locally.... too much stuff to get rid of, plus the central location works well..... with one daughter living in the Outer Hebrides, one daughter moving from Devizes to Exeter in a couple of weeks, and our son living here in the village + other 'commitments'/ friends/ family etc.... 🙂
David
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Our Son and Daughter thought it was a good idea for us to move and encouraged it. Not so our grandchildren, who were mortified. There were cries of,’ but we’ve always come here, it’s where we were little, it won’t be the same’. When I tried to reassure them they said, ‘ but it won’t smell the same!’ I really hope that was a complement !!!
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I would like to move but OH doesn’t, so for the last few years it’s been stalemate! We, sorry I, want to move further south to be nearer family, not too close but nearer. We couldn’t afford Hertfordshire! Yes, it would be a downsizing and, from what bungalows I’ve seen, a downgrading too. We are lucky enough to have a modern 4 bed on a nice gated estate and it seems bungalows, nice ones, seem as rare as hens teeth! Our dream was to move back to Yorkshire when we retired which meant seeing a bit less of family but they agreed it would be good for holidays and the grandchildren often came to stay (previously) during holidays etc, As they have grown and got friends and clubs in their own place, the last thing they want is spending time up here with grandparents! Understandable as I was the same at their age. Best laid plans!!! We may look again later this year, who knows. It looks like a trip to family in Macau may be on the cards again in April.
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Had a sprinkling of snow here this morning but nearly all gone and now light rain but still cool upto 4C possibly today so inside chores only.
When we moved here we had a major de-clutter with 3 skips and everytime stuff was put in it our neighbour behind us used to come up and have sort through his wife not keen as at that time he had 5 sheds in the garden, we did sell a few things and do not want to move again as OH has more stuff in his 2 sheds now than we had in Somerset ha ha.
Good luck with looking at properties TG and enjoy your holiday.
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A lot to consider for us if we moved house. It would only happen if we moved to another geographic area, and we would need to check out hospitals more than anything else, we have excellent ones within 10 miles, and boy have we needed them this last seven years. We have a lovely big semi, mid Victorian, big garden, plenty of parking, excellent neighbours, and have it more or less how we want it. Rather than move, I think we might add on a downstairs bathroom, and a nice conservatory. Our transport links are very good, road and rail, and despite being large, our Council Tax rates are the same band as when we moved in 40 years ago this coming March. Plenty of lovely walks, places to visit, eateries, etc….. nearby house as well.
We almost made the jump when we both got promoted in the early 90’s, I had job interviews in South West, and in Fife, OH could have transferred Brigades, but we did a lot of thinking, calculating, and realised that we rather had a good set up where we were. Both of us could walk to work, we would have had to find stabling for our horse, and we had all we needed well within our budget by staying put.
We still occasionally discuss it, but at present, our big hope is to get back out touring places we love, places we haven’t yet been, and do this for months at a time. I think our preferences of where to live might have changed a bit as well these past couple of decades. We are drawn to Northumberland and Borders more and more. Still fairly quiet compared with most areas. Stunning countryside as well. Neither of us enjoy cities, beyond hospitals and the occasional visit. We love Dartmoor as well. I don’t mind admitting that I’d rather be surrounded by fields full livestock than humans😁1 -
"one potential issue is not having a downstairs toilet"
we live in a bungalow so this is not a problem for us, however, some 6-7 years ago i knew i would need both knees replacing and the bungalow only had 1 bathroom with bath, shower, sink and toilet, so getting around inside was difficult and it certainly was not wheelchair friendly so we had a wet room built adjacent to the master bedroom, when the architect came to discuss he asked what it was i actually wanted, i said
"i want to be able to roll out of my bed into a wheelchair, wheel myself into the wet room and be totally independant in the wet room" and he designed and we had built exactly that, and boy has it been put to good use, my 2 knee replacements, and most recently my OH stroke which left her paralised down the left side, ok now.
, the carers that came to help my OH thought it was magic.Have to say when we downsized from Scotland i thought i was going to hate where we are located now, but it has grown on me, bungalow ideal fit for us and to accomodate guests, grounds large enough for hard standing for caravan with good access/exit, we live in a culd-de-sac, garden very low maintenance as in the past we have spent 3 months away in the caravan over there. We have the beach 5 mins walk away, we can walk into a good village shopping area, and the pub is on the way to the beach, Rookesbury park is 30 mins tug away, we lived there for 3 weeks when we first moved down from Scotland, oh! and we have excellent cycle paths and i love my bike, needless to say we wont be moving again, unless i wont the lottery, i would love somewhere with a pool
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We have been in our house for 38 years and have thought about moving (well I have but you would have drag OH out kicking and screaming!) a few times over the years but I don't think that is going to happen now. It is a large 4 bedroomed detached house (we moved here with 3 teenagers) with 2 loos upstairs and 1 downstairs. We also have bus stops practically outside the house.The garden, although smaller than the one at our previous house, now seems biggish and we decided we need some help last year so now have a great guy who comes once a fortnight to do the heavy work and the cutting back and clearing. We decided the expense of moving was too great and it would mean a lot of decluttering. So no we have no thoughts of moving. Good luck with your house search TG. I hope it goes well.
After 2 lovely crisp, cold but sunny days it is grey and overcast today and bitterly cold. We had a lovely walk round our local park in the sunshine on Tuesday followed by a very welcome cup of coffee in their cafe. Yesterday and today have been 'maintenance' days. Chiropodist for me and hairdresser for both us yesterday and dentist this morning for me. All very boring but necessary.
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We have been in this house for 36 years and don’t plan on moving any time soon we have never really considered it to be honest as we live in a very nice area at the end of a cul de sac got a decent sized garden and enough room on the drive to store the caravan. At one point there were 7 of us in this house us and the 5 kids but just us now and second youngest left so we have 2 spare rooms but that’s handy when we have visitors. Wouldn’t move far if we ever were to move as we have most of our family here and are close to the beach also right at the end of our road is a by pass so Glasgow etc are not far away.
Good luck TG hope you find what your looking for.
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Today we went to our daughters and met the lizard. We were impressed with granddaughters care of her, long may it last. She came out of her vivarium for a little while, ran around the bedroom floor then stood stock still like a statue. Then she sat on granddaughters chest and went to sleep while granddaughter stroked her head, she seemed very happy to be held. I didn’t want to hold her but did stroke her, very spiky, like stroking a lychee. Then soon put back into her warm environment on such a cold day. I left the bedroom as daughter fed her fruit and live crickets or such like, seems she made short work of them. It seems that she started out life in her previous home as a ‘male’ called Dudley, that was until she laid two eggs, then she was renamed Rosie.
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We had our usual coffee in the Waitrose Cafe before starting our shopping. Whilst we were drinking our coffee I notice a lady in the queue who used to work with us. We hadn't seen her for a long time so as she was on her own we beckoned her across to our table. When we last spoke, about six months ago, she was waiting for a knee replacement but we hadn't seen her since. It turned out that she had been told it could be another two years and she was clearly in a lot of pain. So, she decided to have the operation done privately by the same surgeon that would have done it on the NHS! It cost her £16000! Such a shame that people have to use their saving for things that should be done reasonably quickly and at no cost at the point of operation.
David
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Well the house viewing went well, lovely couple, nice bungalow but it's not for us. The garden is as big as ours but the majority of it is chippings with the odd azalea or rhododendron planted. Masses of parking, garage, 2 sheds and a greenhouse. The house while having a sun room doesn't have as much storage/cupboards/utility room as we have. It's a kitchen where you could have a table but no dining room. The lounge is big and square shaped as is the main bedroom. Both have bay windows so nice and bright but they both need new windows and the bay roof needs attention. Bathroom is small, ours is not big but feels more roomy. There is no cavity wall insulation so exterior walls feel cold. Nowhere for a freezer and the washer and tumbler are in a cupboard next to the back door/sunroom. Main door never gets used due to it being at the front of the house and the drive is side and back. The only way into the house is through the sunroom then kitchen. As I said nice enough house but not enough space for us.
The thought of moving doesn't bother me, in fact it would be good to have a good clear out. I would hate for our boys to have to come up and try to sort it all out when the time comes. Doesn't seem fair on them.
We discounted the one in Fife that was a potential as well.
We'll keep on looking, not the best time of year anyway and it gives us time to de clutter. OH's shed and surrounding area needs a lot of attention but it's far to cold to do it at the moment. Same with the attic far to cold to spend long up there.
Thank you all for the good wishes I think it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Full sun today so washing and drying done curtesy of the SPs 😊
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Been a quiet day for us today. We had a busy and expensive day yesterday up early as the Volvo had to be in at the specialist in Glasgow for 8.15 for MOT and timing belt change also needed a couple of tyres so a bit expensive but the car is now 7 years old and has had never had a timing belt so needed done ready for the new towing season. Bonus is they wash and valet it so save me a job. Not much planned tonight take away a couple of beers and the snooker
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Made it to Friday! 🤣
Interesting reading about moving house, up until moving into our current house we moved quite a few times, even as a child we moved house and areas every couple of year's, its been good to stay put. We have some lovely neighbours which helps, so even though we have thought about moving fleetingly, think we'll stay put.
Weather has been very grey but not as cold, ground is starting to dry up a bit thankfully. Spent some time this week thinking about holiday plans, give us something look forward to, only managed to book an Easter break so far. OH has finished the fence repairs, he left his drill bits outside, disappeared, we can leave anything out as the foxes take them. 😱
Enjoy the weekend everyone. 🙂
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A couple of dry days, although no sun today so it felt a lot colder. Managed to get the car cleaned yesterday and started cleaning the inside of the caravan today. Just hope that the snow holds off, at least long enough to do the outside of the van this weekend.
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