Not long to go!

...and to be frank, I think that we're very stressed and exhausted. All the goodbyes, home refurb obstacles, logistics and just sheer outflow of money are really taking their toll. The worst news is that the conclusion on our plumbing is that despite all the work and money thrown at it, there is still an undiscovered leak, and we have no option but re-lay central heating pipes across the entire flat. While we're away. And after our first tennant moves in. Ouch.

On the positive side, in about 3 days' time we'll be in Tanzania.

Hungover again

we're at the tail end of 3 weeks of virtually continuous evenings out - it's been tough, but we've managed to wake up in time for the arrival of the decorators at 8:30am despite our daily hangovers. The flat is nearly finished, and in fact we had our first prospective tennant come to view the place yesterday - very exciting. The place is looking really good.


...and we had our latest barbie ever - 20th September, and it was a lovely balmy night. Discovered just how tasty an onion with oil and balsamic mustard can be after it's been double-wrapped in foil and left amongst the coals right from the start of the barbie - delicious.


The shipping company are booked up to come and pack and take away all of our gear next week, which will leave us with only our backpacks for our last few days in the UK. We keep reaching milestones that make us realise anew that we're actually going. Having all our gear shipped away will be a big one!

Friends and family have asked us all kinds of questions about Oz and Brisbane, so I put together a short webpage with some info - it's here.

Come down for the world's busiest retiree...?

Not only is the intensely fun boys weekend over, but so is the summer - a double whammy come down. And this retiree, and his retired fiancee, are both working harder than they were when they had office jobs :)

The weekend away with the boys was excellent - it turned out to be a couple of days drinking and hill walking based in a converted barn in the middle of nowhere. Perfect. Plenty of photos here - I'm particularly pleased with some of the panoramics.


Since then, it's been non-stop. Having fixed the leak under the bathroom floor, the central heating has sprung a further two leaks (!). I must take some credit for the second one, but in my defense it was an accident waiting to happen. So, the plumbers laugh each time they hear from me.

The conversion of our flat into a showhome is really gathering pace, though. I've been busy finishing off lots of odd jobs that have been hanging over me for the last 18 months. For instance, not only can you now lock yourself into the bathroom, but you've got a handle on the inside of the door to get you back out again. And, almost unbelievably, the kitchen is now finised. Never thought I'd see the day...

We have decorators in (slowly) working their way through the lounge, hall and spare room. The house is a complete bombsite and dust bowl while they're here, but it should only be a couple more days and then the place will really start to look like the showhome that we always knew was hiding underneath that old wallpaper and avocado tiling.

Our trip home is now all booked up - we're out of here on 2nd October. Very soon. But once we land, we immediately start on the climb up Kilimanjaro. That should blow out the cobwebs....

Right - far too busy to actually be writing blog entries, so best get going!

Surprises for the weekend

Both of us are in for surprises this weekend - our friends are taking each of us out seperately for some kind of leaving / pre-wedding fun. I have some idea of what the girls have in store (and it sounds nice) but I have no idea what the boys have in store for me. I have been given very little information, only that I'm to wait on a street corner in hammersmith wearing a balaclava and holding a bunch of chrysanthemums - the mind boggles....

In other news - the leak in our central heating has finally been found! It's only taken 6 months.... *so* pleased to have finally seen the problem with my own eyes, and watch the tradesmen starting to fix it. That's one more refurb task ticked off the very long list of things to do.

I'm spending my retirement hacking through admin at home - somehow, it seems to take all day!

Lots of dSLR photos from the weekend in Eastbridge are here