I'm finally off!

It's been nearly a month since I last posted a blog I realised when I read back through what I had written. Where did all that time go? I finished my cleaning business two weeks ago and have devoted every waking (and some sleeping) moments to getting the cottage ready for letting. In a weird twist of fate my ex-husband has been helping me at least one day a week with the building work - he's been handling the major construction jobs and I've been doing the decorating and some of the lighter jobs.

The estate agents started off well with two viewings on the day after it was advertised, but after that four more appointments were cancelled before the people even got to the front door. Apparently this is common in lettings but it was really annoying for me because each time they set up a new appointment I had to stop whatever job I was doing and tidy the house as much as possible so it resembled a home and not a building site. They whinged slightly that it was not easy to let a property that was not completely ready, but I told them I had no choice as the 15th was looming and I had to go. Suffice it to say here that it hasn't rented out yet and I have left it empty and forlorn, but beautifully decorated and with new curtains in the main bedroom! I joked with the estate agent that at the rate I was going I would be painting the front door as I locked it for the last time! It wasn't quite like that as I had repainted the front door a while ago, but I did lay some new vinyl flooring in the entrance lobby on Saturday morning!!

I would have gone to my Mum's with the rest of my stuff on Friday evening but it just got too late and I just got too tired, so I waved Dave off with a car load of boxes - he got an amazing amount in the Prelude considering the large sound system that resides in his boot space - and contemplated getting a takeaway as I had no cooking utensils left, but I was so tired that I cooked a jacket potato in the oven and 'fried' bacon and egg under the grill. My neighbour came round to say Goodbye and asked if there was anything I needed. 'You couldn't make me a cup of tea could you, Debs?' I asked, and within minutes she was back with a huge mug of tea and a flask of tea too - what a lifesaver!

Day One of my new life saw me driving up the M5 laden to the gunnels with everything I thought I would need, plus all the last minute bits and bobs that had to go to Mum's for storage. I arrived for lunch and did some unpacking and repacking and then at 3.30 I was on my way to Longhope on the edge of the Forest of Dean.

It only took 40 minutes and was really easy to find. I went to the main farmhouse next to the Craft outlet as instructed and rang the bell - no answer. As it was a farm, I thought perhaps there was a backdoor that everyone went to so I wandered all round the building but found no sign of life. I rang the bell again (it was a very loud bell) - still nothing, although there were two cars parked out front, so I went to the craft centre and asked if they knew where everyone was. 'If the cars are there they can't be far away', said a helpful lady in the teashop. I went back to the front door and without much hope of a result rang the bell again - still nothing. 'Well, this is a good start!' I thought, but then, mustering the new laid-back me, I decided to sit in the car and read a book until someone noticed me, as surely they would. About half an hour later I looked up to see a man approaching looking slightly bemused. I leapt out of the car, put on my most winning smile and introduced myself. Luckily they were expecting me but due to a rather heavy lunch engagement he and his wife had been asleep! I was then directed out of the farm and up the road with the instruction to 'take the first driveway on the left and the old farmhouse is at the top of the hill - you'll be sharing it with two German wwoofers - a girl and a boy, but the girl is leaving tomorrow.'

I duly took the first driveway which turned out to be a very steep stony farm track and drove uphill for about half a mile, passing fields of sheep and lambs and a small paddock with pigs in. At the top of the hill were a pair of very nice wrought iron gates set in some rather grand stone pillars, so I drove through and pulled up outside the farmhouse. This turned out to be a rather dubious-looking cottage. The door was not locked so after knocking I went in calling out a cheery 'Hellooooo' - no answer. I was beginning to think that I had come to the wrong place, but there was signs of building work and restoration going on in the outbuildings surrounding the cottage and no other obvious house further along the track which finished just beyond the last barn, so I went back and had a look inside. I felt a bit like Goldilocks in the Three Bears House and half expected someone to come back at any moment and demand to know what I was doing there. Downstairs there were two rooms - the sitting room and the kitchen, and upstairs there were two rooms - both bedrooms. Both rooms were in use, although thankfully unoccupied - now that would have been embarrassing!, but I couldn't work out which room I was supposed to sleep in, although the bigger room was marginally more tidy (if a student squat could be termed tidy) but the other bed was strewn with clothes, curtains and bedding and had a broken leg. Now, the astute amongst you, those that haven't already dropped off with the sheer length of this post, will have noticed that there was one room conspicuous by it's absence - yep, that's the one - no bathroom, and more pertinently at this point - no loo! Beginning to feel a little desperate in more ways than one I had another look round outside and following what appeared to be a well-worn path, located the privy which surprisingly had a flushing toilet - what luxury - but no electric light, so now I know why I was told to bring a torch.

Feeling relieved to have located and used the loo, I decided, in the absence of any better idea, to have a look round the outbuildings and came across several sundry sheds containing Gloucester Old Spot pigs, including a sow and litter of eleven or twelve young piglets. Having exhausted that exploration I was wondering what to do when Howard (the bleary-eyed man) arrived in a truck and seemed surprised that no-one was home. He proceeded to give me a guided tour of the fields and woods around the farm - the woods are filled with bluebells at the moment and wild garlic too and was very quiet - I shall have to have a good look round later on my own.

Returning to the cottage he showed me which room I was in and casually placed a chock of wood under the broken bed so that I had somewhere to sleep at night. The routine is that wwoofers don't work at weekends except to feed the pigs in the morning, the working week day starts at 8, followed by a full English breakfast down at the main farmhouse (I'll need it if I have to walk up and down that hill every day) and then more work 'til about 4. Apart from breakfast during the week all other meals are self-catered with ingedients provided by the farmer. I must admit to feeling slightly short-changed at the moment - an 8 hour day in return for one cooked meal, some very random ingredients for self-catering and accomodation that lacks a little in the comfort zone - still it's only for two weeks!

I fetched some things from the car and sat down to wait for something else to happen. Eventually the two Germans returned - they were students who had just finished school and were waiting to go to University in September, so they are very young but very pleasant. Unfortunately, the girl who is leaving today has much better English than the boy who is also quite quiet naturally, so the next few days could be a challenge.

After a reasonable (for me) night's sleep I woke at 5.15 to the most amazing dawn chorus. I pulled on my clothes and a coat (it was raining) and went outside to the privy, then I made a cup of tea and whittled a plug for the stone sink out of a potato - nothing if not resourceful! and then I had a wash in tepid water - I forgot to mention that there is no hot water unless you boil a kettle and that's not enough to warm the stone sink - I must find a substitute for a washing up bowl later!

Well, it's now 3pm on day one, and we have just finished a not-too-bad Sunday lunch of chicken breasts cooked in the oven, broccoli and mashed potato; the German girl has departed via bus, train, train, train and bus to Cumbria; I have had a drive through the very lovely Forest of Dean and we have fired up the ancient Raeburn in the kitchen as it dawned on me that that is what heats the water - eventually! I also found an old washing up bowl amazingly unholed in one of the outhouses - so another small blessing to add to the collection! Strangely though folks, I am actually enjoying myself so far, but of course, tomorrow is the first working day and then we shall see....................