I repeat 'Planning Day 79'! 79 freaking days to plan a round the world trip in the days of Sir Francis Drake would have been a masterful feat of logistics that Phil 'Wrighty' Wright would have found difficult to match despite his skill in this field. In the days of the internet it smacks of carelessness and a good chance of getting lost on the way if you can't sort out the basic flights in less than 3 months!
By the way that was a coincidental tip of the hat to my big brother's latest amazing work - Uncharted: Drakes Fortune for Sony's Playstation 3. 'The overall package of an endearing story, outstanding score, great performances and fun gameplay should put this title on the top of your holiday wishlist. Say what you will about the PS3, but Uncharted isn't just a standout for Sony - it's a standout for gaming as a whole.' And as Alan Partridge said 'Not my words Lynn, the words of Top Gear magazine!' - well - IGN Online!
http://uk.ps3.ign.com
And the reason I'm still sat in Lichfield (very comfortably at Billy and Fi's so thanks very much guys) is because house buying and selling in England, while a very lucrative affair for the last decade, has been reminding me how unstable, clandestine, annoying and finally uplifting it is!
Yes - the deal is finally done - I exchanged contracts on Monday and complete the sale of my APARTMENT on Thursday. It's been a hairy few days because last Friday I'd packed up boxes, enlisted the help of super packer/mover, Matt 'thinning' Waggleson, unloaded everything, stored it neatly (of course!) in Newent's storage facility (sounds a bit 24 that huh?!), and chased solicitors and estate agents politely but bluntly to the edge of annoyance. And just when I thought that had cracked it talk, amongst the powers that be, yesterday was of leaving everything until Thursday. I can just imagine the solicitors dashing back to their desks after their Christmas lunch to rush through my sale, turkey drumstick in one hand, pen in the other ...? So more not-so-gentle persuasion yesterday and we're there.
A big sigh of relief can now be taken and recent thoughts consumed by moving, cancelling direct debits, telling British Telecom to stop their excellent broadband connection and negotiating Lichfield District Council tax refunds can all end.
And instead I can turn my attention to travelling again. Hooray! I'll post again later in the week when I've looked at it and tell you all about the leaving bash in Henley-on-Thames!
This has all taught me one thing. When I'm stuck with a problem it consumes me a bit and I get very annoyed that a solution can't be found. But the very second it's sorted out I forget all the hassle and move on. Now that's got to be a good trait and one I'm lucky Mum and Dad instilled in me. It's also refreshed my memory of another thing. That the property world talks in riddles. When they say 'we're waiting for the vendor to give instruction to his solicitor to exchange contracts' they actually mean 'Mr X needs to ask Mrs Y to call Ms Z and and say the sale's completed'. Now isn't that a lot easier?
For now - 'the time of the housing market is over, the time of travelling is about to begin ...'
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