We tried our best to make the most of our holiday even if we wouldn’t have chosen it if we had know that it was unfinished before we booked. The rooms were lovely even if there weren't many fitments and the sun was shining.
We had to walk for miles before we rented a car because we were miles away from anywhere; even the reception.
Once we picked our car up it was much better as we could quickly and easily get around and nip to the supermarket for supplies. Right at the end of our stay we discovered a couple of nice little seafront villages close by. We will definitely revisit these upon our return to Tenerife in May.
Although it has been several decades since my last motor accident, I managed to reverse our little car into a wall whilst trying to avoid a tourist bus on mountain roads. Just for good measure, I also managed to ding it into a metal post putting a crease right up the back of the car whilst parking it outside the rental office upon its return. I have yet to hear the consequences of these mistakes.
Mothers day treat was a trip to the Bowls Club in Melton Mowbray. We have tried other venues but they always seem disappointed with either the food or price. Best to stick with a well proven formula. Talking of formula, I’m very disappointed that half the Grand Prix’s are not being shown on the BBC this year; I have had to resort to listening to 5 live and buying an ap for my i-pad.
It was Georgie's 70th Birthday this month so the Wednesday night crew and lady friends were all out to celebrate at the Barge. A really great night was had by all.
Jim and Harriet, seemed content to mess around on their mobile phones like a couple of school kids.
Whilst Shirley and Alfi got together with their own little coffee club.
Steve tried to explain just how much bigger the fish are in England compared to Australia to Kyle.
A great night was had by all. George and Joan are off to their apartment in Minorca at the weekend for their holidays at last so only one more Wednesday before their off. Have a great one Dr George!
Such wonderful weather to greet us when we returned to our caravan which makes it even more like being on holiday all the time.
It was also time to leave Sue’s house in Newport Pagnell and return to our caravan at Overstone Lakes. Thanks for looking after us for the last two months Sue. No sooner had we arrived but we decided to put a deposit down on another caravan. Its the one next to ours that we currently live in.
Its quite nice, we wont have to do much more than replace the fridge freezer. It has all the fixtures and fittings; even an en-suite bathroom to bedroom one and two singles in bed two.
I guess it must seem like a strange thing to buy; the caravan next door. If you want or need another one, why not buy one somewhere else, near the coast or something? We it started upon our return; our neighbor had moved out because of ill health so it came back on the market again. Claire noticed some very undesirable people viewing the caravan so we knew it was obviously on the open market again so we decided to get the keys and have a look ourselves. As it was in very tidy form and was quite cheap, I guess that we are protecting our own interests by buying it. We have a window from each bedroom, one from the kitchen and lounge overlooking this caravan and if we had ended up with people we didn’t like it would have chased us away altogether. Also, being a corner one, its a double plot with garden on each side. It will be perfect for my parents to come and stay in and be right next to us so we can look after them. They will be able to come whenever they want and stay for as long as they want. It will also be much easier to have friends come to stay; they will even have their own place. Great for BBQ’s as it has a paved area between the two vans. We get to have two more sheds for storage and six more family and friends day passes. The only down side is the extra site fees each year. Well, we intend to rent it out, at least during the summer months, to help towards these fees. If we declare this rent money to the tax man we will be able to offset any costs like site fees, electric and gas as well so we wont pay as much tax from our flat rentals. Mr lovely tax man will kindly oblige. Its only fair that he takes care of your losses as well as your gains.
Lots of time this month was also spent searching for and viewing properties. I did the groundwork viewing everything that I thought was suitable then we made a shortlist and Claire viewed them with me. Still nothing, I’m afraid; I guess that it will be at least another month before we find our new renovation project that should keep me employed for ourselves rather than making money for someone else. We did make an offer on a property in Newport Pagnell but the agent is so bad they hardly acknowledged it. Not sure if its them or the seller that has repossessed it. Either way, I have spent enough time chasing after them; there are plenty more out there with sellers that do want our money.
My personal favorite was one of the Vision apartments in the Hub with a roof garden and private balcony overlooking some waste ground and the train station. Ideal for London commuters. Unfortunately, this one didn’t even make it to our short list so that Claire could view it. It was a one bed shared ownership but they wanted £335 a month for the shared part and services. It was still tempting as they let for £775 a month. Trouble is, legally, you can’t let them; I know that everyone does, but we don’t want to start out by cheating or hiding anything. Everything else we have is above board and tax paid so why spoil it now, better to wait for the right one. I prefer to tell the truth; that way you don’t have to remember anything.
Lots of this month was also taken up helping my parents again. Most of my friends are of similar age to me and we all seem to be going through this phase of our lives together. They have been waiting to have a garden shed erected until they had the cavity wall insulation so that they had access to inject the foam. Anyway, last Friday they had the cavity wall done and this Monday I went over to help with the shed stuff while Claire painted their second bedroom.
Of course, Mum and Dad having been used to always doing things for themselves can’t stop now. Last Saturday they decided to wash the conservatory windows adjacent to where the shed would go to clean up the mess that had been made during the cavity wall drilling and injection. Mum was up the ladder while Dad held the ladder. Mum, lost her balance and somehow fell backwards off the ladder ending up where the shed is to go which is about 6 inches lower than the normal level. Dad, fell sideways down the 18 inch hole at the back while gallantly trying to save “the ladder” which Mum had kicked sideways. Mum landed flat on her back very shaken but nothing broken or even grazed whilst Dad ended up looking like a Russian leader with the hammer and sickle tattooed on his head. He had also grazed both knees, elbows and knuckles. Not a very nice outcome on their wedding anniversary.
Claire did a wonderful job of tidying up our Two Mile Ash flat which looks spick and span again.
We are ending this month in the same way as we started it; sorting a flat out ready for reletting then going on holiday to celebrate. this time though, we will have a go selling it before we take the relet route. The Two Mile Ash studio is our least favorite flat because of the communal area and management company; time to move on. We finished it of this week and handed the keys over to Aron from Ordain Bond on Thursday afternoon and we fly out to Malta today, Friday 30th March. Its to thank Sue for looking after us for 2 months during Overstone closedown. She knows that we are going to Malta but she doesn’t know that we are staying in the Intercontinental Hotel; its a surprise. She wont read this now until after we have arrived at the hotel, so if your up early you will know before she does and be part of our surprise. See you in April; unless we have another holiday!
No comments:
Post a Comment