The day before the move I had defrosted my ‘new’ fridge for the first time. I thought I’d been pretty diligent in mopping up the water but apparently I hadn’t been diligent enough.

When the removal men moved it, they disturbed some of the carpet tiles to reveal the fact that water had seeped into the parquet floor below and had ‘lifted’ the wooden tiles. As Peter’s tool box had gone into the van early in the proceedings he couldn’t attempt to mend the floor until he retrieved it when we unloaded at the other end, that is why at 6pm after 12 hours of the hardest work I’ve ever done in my life we were heading back to Ravendale House to mend the kitchen floor!!

When we arrived I was horrified, there was ‘stuff’ everywhere. Ironing board, 2 hoovers, a large picture, bird feeder, small chair, I could go on, and that was just what was left in and around the house. The garage was another story entirely.

Peter seemed quite surprised too, and yet he had been there when the vans left. Why hadn’t these things been loaded? I didn’t understand, but as Peter was by now on his knees trying to dry the wooden floor tiles with a hairdrier, it didn’t seem the time to ask.

For the next few hours Peter worked on the floor, whilst I ferried what I could get in the car to the cottage, a round trip of about 50 minutes.

Tired doesn’t begin to describe how we felt. Our last job was supposed to have been taking Leonard to the new house, but circumstances meant that we left him at Ravendale House for one last night as it was obvious we had a lot more work to do before we handed the keys to the agent the following morning.

You’ve heard the expression ‘a pound of flesh’, well life hadn’t quite finished with us yet.

To be continued – – – – –