2016
is turning out to be a very different kind of year from its immediate predecessors. Apart from a last-minute dash to Scotland in January to make sure the house was protected from
frost damage, we have remained resolutely in one place until my trip to Prague
last month.
Instead
of our normal travelling we have been involved in two very different journeys. By
far the most significant has been the decision to sell the old house on the
hill which was our home for almost forty years. It finally went on the market on the day
before the EU referendum and three days later, to our complete amazement, we
received an asking price offer from the very first people to view. We were very
grateful for this gleam of light amid the profound gloom of the referendum
result.
Given
the state of the market, and knowing how long some local houses have been for
sale, we had been mentally preparing ourselves for a prolonged and frustrating wait.
Instead we have spent the summer dealing with all the myriad questions and
details which accompany a property sale, which culminated this week with both
us and the buyers signing our respective copies of the contracts. Completion
will take some time, but the selling
journey has definitely reached its goal.
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| The old house as we first saw it in 1973 |
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| The old house over 40 years later |
Another
journey which reached its goal in the last couple of weeks was the seemingly
interminable saga of the conservatory. We started sending for brochures this
time last year and the building work was finally completed in August. DH then
worked like a trooper during my time in Prague, painting walls and laying
flooring, ready for the specialist removers to dismantle his beloved snooker
table, transport it down the hill and reassemble it in its new home. Since then
I can usually rely on finding him in there whenever he isn’t in his usual
haunts.
It’s
too late now for us to fit in a short trip to France and we have too much to do
to head north in November as we usually do. But we are determined that next
year, come what may, we will once again be perpetually in transit.
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| Foundation trench heading for Australia |
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| The walls rise... |
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| And the roof takes shape... |
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| He plays by day... |
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| He plays by night... |
Despite being forced to stay put in 2016, rather than being 'Perpetually in Transit', I'm very glad that it has resulted in two successful outcomes. Buying & selling property is always rather stressful so I'm glad you've had a firm sale of the old house up the hill.
ReplyDeleteThe conservatory looks delightful and I'm so pleased for your DH that he now has ready access to his snooker table once more. As you say, you now know where to look first whenever you want to find him :-)
Thanks, Ricky. We're very relieved to have had two successful outcomes, the first of which was by no means a foregone conclusion. We feel very fortunate to have found a buyer so quickly. DH kindly credits my website with a good part of the success. ;)
DeleteThe conservatory is lovely and I'm very glad I managed to persuade DH that his snooker table deserved to have a new home. Its original purchase was his one big self-indulgence and he really did miss it when we moved down the hill. All's well that ends well. :)
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteDifferent yes, but no less interesting and challenging! The sense of closure as the year itself closes will set you in stead for a full and proper shift of gears, prepared for many more perpetual travelling years. &*> YAM xx
Challenging is almost an understatement for some of the stressful times we've had this year, Yam. We couldn't possibly have been away from home until everything was finally sorted satisfactorily. Indeed we've been so busy we've hardly had time to miss our usual travelling, though I'm definitely looking forward very much indeed to what next year will bring.
DeleteI'm so glad your stress levels are coming down at last. What a year!
ReplyDeleteThe conservatory looks lovely (despite there being room only for a snooker table) At least your DH has somewhere to call his own:-)
I trust you have a hidey-hole of your own?
Indeed, what a year, Ray. It's only now things are quieter that I realise just how much we've been dealing with.
DeleteYes, the conservatory is lovely and there is in fact room for a couple of chairs at the far end, but it was always meant first and foremost for the snooker table. I'm lucky enough to have a study overlooking the garden as my special place.
I did enjoy seeing the photograph of the house as you first saw it...and am glad that you are happy in the people who bought it.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it is only when it is over that you allow yourself to realise how stressful it has been....
It was pretty dilapidated outside, Helen, but you should have seen it inside! It had been let for several years to a group of hippies (remember them?) and the interior decoration was distinctly psychedelic. :-)
DeleteDH has really taken to the buyers and they seem to want it for all the right reasons.
Yes, with hindsight this has been a hard year, but it's been worth it.
The conservatory looks wonderful and great that your DH now has somewhere for his snooker table. So pleased that your house sold quickly - you have had quite a year. Hopefully things will be quieter next year and you can get back to your perpetual travels.
ReplyDeleteWe're very pleased with it, Susan, and I'm particularly glad DH now has the chance to follow his absorbing interest again. I'm nowhere near good enough to give him a proper game on a full-size table, but he seems happy to play himself. :-)
DeleteHaving the house sell so quickly has been a big relief and we're looking forward to getting back into our normal routine again next year.
I'm sure your house in France is safe and sound and ready to welcome you back next year, you may have to prepare yourself for some serious weeding though.
ReplyDeleteWe always make sure it's ready for winter when we leave and a friend checks from time to time to make sure the roof is still on. The grass will have been kept in check by our neighbour's young stock, but I'm expecting my flower border to be totally swamped by weeds. Hey-ho...
DeleteIt is a surprise to realise it is so long since you were 'in transit', but what an eventual year it has been for you. Going by the original photo, you have improved you old house a great deal over time, and it is pleasing to have your efforts rewarded with an early sale. The conservatory it the most attractive snooker room I have ever seen. In Australia they are usually downstairs, 'under the house'!
ReplyDeleteYes, our normal pattern started to fall apart in February when I arrived home from Ypres with a bad chest infection. Putting the old house on the market in the spring was the last straw. Thankfully it's all been worth it.
DeleteI often envy the huge basements which can be such a feature of Australian and American houses. Here in the UK the habit of having cellars underneath houses seems to have disappeared sometime before WW2, with few exceptions.
You might rethink your appreciation for basements if you had ever had the opportunity to store innumerable things down there which ultimately have to be sorted out and dealt with. Ours is a mass of woodworking machines (heavy, heavy) and thousands of screws, nuts, bolts and hand tools! A nightmare to envision clearing out one day!
DeleteYour basement sounds very much like the barn we had at the old house, Vic. DH is an inveterate hoarder and could probably have stocked a hardware store with the collection of screws, nuts, bolts and hand tools he'd built up over the years. He's now forced to sort and discard what he can no longer store and it isn't proving easy...
DeleteIt sounds like you've had a successful year overall. I'm glad your house sold so quickly. We have only sold one house ourselves and it sold fast too, such that we were sort of bewildered. It was a good thing, though, we were glad to move on. I hope your trip to France goes well and that your trip up north does too. Take care, Perpetua.
ReplyDeleteYes, things have worked out well for us eventually, Jennifer, which is a big relief. The housing market in the UK is very mixed at present, so we had no idea what to expect when the house went on sale.
DeleteSadly there is still too much to do for us to go anywhere this year, but we are looking forward to getting back into our usual pattern next year.
How nice to find your post, even if i'm finding it a bit late! You've definitely been busy, Perpetua, and it's lovely to hear about all your plans. The conservatory is lovely new space and I see being put to very good use. :-) And congratulations on the home sale! That is no small matter! I'm sure you're going to miss France this year, but it will be all the sweeter next year!
ReplyDeleteLovely to read your comment, Debra, and apologies for taking so long to reply. Blame the half-term visit from DD and her family, whom we waved off home this morning. :) The snooker table in its new home was very well used during their visit. We're very relieved to have got as far as this with selling the old house, especially when so many houses in this area seem to languish on the market for years.
DeleteYes, we will look forward very much to next year's visit to France. :)
Congratulations on completing the sale of your home. The process seems different from the way such sales go here in the US. I like the way it seems you had more negotiations going between you. Maybe that is not a good thing, but I think it would be.
ReplyDeleteThe conservativatory is wonderful. I love that the British build such rooms and call them a conservatory. The light from the roof and the windows must be wonderful. I wish I had such a room. I'd fill it with plants. ;)
Thanks, Sally. The sale of the house hasn't actually been completed yet. In the UK there are three stages to selling a house. The first is receiving and accepting an offer, the second the preparation and exchange of the contracts between seller and purchaser (and usually the payment of a deposit) and the third is completion, when the final payment is made and the property is handed over. We've done the first two, but the third will happen sometime in the future.
DeleteYes, the conservatory has worked out very well. Next year there will be plants on the window-sills, but I haven't had time yet to do this. :)
So much to take in. I keep coming back to this post and figured I should finally comment. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting the 1973 photo and then the "after" photo. You certainly loved that old house and shepherded it into the 21st century. I'm glad the sale turned out well and now you and DH are on to your next house adventure - complete with the conservatory and snooker table intact. Well done - and now, enjoy!
I'm glad you enjoyed the post with its contrasts between 1973 and now, Penny. We did a huge amount of renovation and improvement over the years and I'm sure our purchasers will enjoy making more alterations and improvements to suit their own needs. The sale won't finally be completed until they have sold their own house, but things are moving.
DeleteThe conservatory certainly came into its own this past week with DD and her family visiting. The two elder grandsons really enjoyed playing on the full-sized table. :)
Lovely photography! You are very talented to have transformed your house into such a modern beautiful home! Living in Manhattan, I envy the space also! And greenery!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like it, Debra. In fact, inside the old house still looks old, with heavily beamed ceilings downstairs and a huge inglenook fireplace. It's been remodelled a number of times over its nearly 300 year history. And, yes, Wales certainly has plenty of greenery. :)
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