Richard Baum

Well, it has finally happened. After more to-ing and fro-ing between estate agents, solicitors and the most bitter recesses of my brain than I care to remember, I am finally a home-owner.

At midday, the solicitors rang to inform me that I now owe the Nationwide a staggering sum of money. And then a minute later the estate agents rang to offer me two sets of keys in return for my soul. It seemed a fair deal to me, and I’ll be picking them up at 4.

This evening Tamsin and I are going to sit on the floor of our empty house and eat fish and chips, whilst plotting what should go where. I have already come to the conclusion that she should go in the shed.

We won’t officially move in until Valentine’s Day. This is less to do with romance and more to do with the date we pay rent each month, but the coincidence is a happy one, and probably saves me a trip to the florists.

Between now and then we are buying, taking delivery of, and assembling various goods. Tomorrow, for instance, the fridge, freezer, dishwasher and washer/dryer arrive in the back of a Curry’s lorry. So apologies to my new neighbours for that. And then we have the very modern joy of buying virtually everything else in flat-pack form and spending the next fortnight turning allen keys until planks of plywood are transformed into beautiful side-boards.

But all this activity won’t stop work in the ward. The new St Mary’s Focus has been printed and folded, and is now ready for distribution across the ward. So expect one through your letterbox in the coming weeks, starting this weekend. And throughout the turmoils of rug-buying, finding an acceptable coffee table, and dealing with one too few screws for the bookcase, I will be available to offer any assistance you might need from a Councillor.
Rick