I thought that maybe some of you might be interested in the outcome of
my horrendous moving experience. Well, I have finally done it! On
December 16th to be precise. I had already moved out of my house in the
south-east, as my buyer insisted on getting access before November 29th
else he'd pull out (empty rhetoric, probably). We actually achieved
completion on the 30th. For days I wandered the land, staying in
temporary accommodation or with relations. Thanks to all who helped
out, by the way. Then all of a sudden the paperwork for the new house
all came together, exchange and completion happened on the same day,
and I found myself winging my way up the A1 to Lincolnshire. Two hours
after exchange the developer rang to say that the oil tank was almost
empty - gee, thanks! So for four days over the weekend until Tuesday I
was freezing (the boiler had to be switched off otherwise it would have
run dry, thus requiring it to be 'bled'). Amazing, isn't it? I pay a
small fortune for the property, yet the developer could not stick even
500 litres in the tank as a goodwill gesture. Especially as I had been
told weeks before that there was enough oil to last the winter. Oh,
well. The tanker finally arrived and I had my first bath.

The only things I have to worry about are shrinkage cracks, the almost
white carpet which will quickly show the dirt, and the horrid 12v
downlighters which cost a fortune to replace. Maybe I'll rip 'em all
out and replace with good old-fashioned bulbs (17p from ASDA). And rip
the carpet out and put lovely easy-to-clean laminate down instead. Any
market for almost new carpet?

So there you are! Thanks for all the comments. It took from March 26th
until December 16th with practically no chain. Imagine what fun it must
be if a chain is six deep. Now I am going to keep a much closer eye on
the housing market to predict when a rise is imminent. In the meantime
I have plans to explore Lincolnshire and see if there are any nicer
places to live. One hazard with life in Lincolnshire I have noticed
already is the driving. Because the Fens are so flat you can see for
miles. This encourages people to drive at excessive speeds and they're
always going off the road into a dyke (no jokes, please). The hedgerows
and telephone masts are littered with wreaths and tired bunches of
flowers.

MM