Trip to a small island

Our new Home – 2 May 2006
We moved to my sister Mel’s place on the Tuesday. It’s out at Reigate. This will be the base from which to explore Britain and Europe. The flat was sparse and we had to track down Mel’s friend Mark from Dorking to deliver a Duvet (doona) and some pillows and towels. Mel’s place had been rented out to a fella for the last 18 months or so and even though the flat had been cleaned, you could tell that it had been a bachelor pad. Kaz spent time washing all the cutlery, crockery etc to get off the grime. I got out the vacuum cleaner to go over the stairs that don’t seem to have been vacuumed for 18 months.

The vacuum cleaner was so clogged I had to wash the wand out to unclog it. The bag was like cement and there wasn’t enough suction to lift the tiniest leaf. The cleaning improved things slightly so I patiently and almost individually picked up the visible dirt with the small amount of suction available. It was at about this point that my feet tangled in the cord and I managed a rather spectacular exit at Monty Pythonesque speed down the quite steep and narrow stairs to pile myself into a ball at the base of the stairs. That seemed to bruise my pride and to clear the vacuum of its blockages. Fantastic! Suction! Only problem is that I have broken the wand in my fall.

Our upstairs neighbour is Emma, a pleasant English lass. She commented on my “hoovering’ skills as vacuuming is called in Britain. However, Mel’s vacuum is an Irish model with a brand name of Goblin. Henceforth, I shall do no more Hoovering – I am a Gobliner!

Since arriving, I have changed the locks on the door as the existing ones were rather dodgy. I also replaced the shower rod as it fell down during my first shower. No amount of tinkering would keep it up as the spring loading that kept it in place had run its useful course in life. The flat is in good general condition but the hallway needs a good coat of paint. I keep looking round finding odd jobs to do and wandering into Homebase (the equivalent in Oz is Mitre 10) and checking out the costs of fixing things. I had 6 keys cut the other day (3 front door and 3 for the flat) and that cost £18 ($50)!!!!