Some of you will know that we had been thinking about moving to Cumbria for a while. Charlotte was on the case with a set of criteria that seemed tough to fill – space for the in-laws, and land for animals (not to be confused with each other!). Having seen the dilapidated buildings that she was looking at, my criteria simply became that it had to have a roof. Charlotte wanted hills. Well, we got both, just.
I suspect that our story is similar to many others. Covid had certainly put a different perspective on life. On the upside, it took our coaching and training business online in a matter of days and reduced our commute dramatically! On the downside, we experienced the emotional and heartfelt loss of a good friend. Not being able to visit him in hospital was difficult, phone conversations kept us going… just. The memory of him giving us a guided tour of the hospital ward will stay will us. He studiously avoided capturing other people on video, complimented the nurses and Doctors, and shared his fixation on the drinks trolley. He did like a good hot chocolate.
We transitioned from the heartbreak of a funeral to, ‘what are we waiting for?’ in a staggeringly short space of time. If there’s one thing he had taught us, and he taught us plenty, it was that life is too short.
Our vision of living somewhere beautiful, with two dogs and some ducks formed the basis of our mantra, “two dogs” and we measured every decision against whether it would get us closer to this goal. Our friend’s death gave our mantra a rapid fuel injection, and the search for our dream accelerated. “No, not that one, no roof…”, “…not that one, no land…” “What about that one?” “Too remote!” “Ooh, how about this one? “Ummm, yep, a bit pricey but seems OK.” A phone call, an appointment for an actual viewing, excitement was growing.
And then came… “Have you seen the flood video?”
“What flood video… no” we said.
Plop. It arrived in our Inbox. Brian from Hoppers, standing in the middle of the kitchen trying to locate the stopcock. The reflection of the water bouncing of the ceiling, as it poured down the walls. Needless to say, it did not put us off. Afterall it had a roof and was on the top of a hill with space for the in-laws and land for animals!
The next year would be an education in renovation. And while it certainly had a roof… it was soon without walls or floors! But, that’s another blog!
Perfect!