Anna Rashbrook's Blog, page 14

Nine weeks more?

I’ve been checking on the jolly old net about the situation on completion in the UK, to find that due to the stamp duty tax, and the housing boom, some houses are taking up to SIXTEEN weeks to complete. We’re seven weeks in, help! But there is the good news that we wont have to quarantine when we arrive, just do tests, that makes it easier.

Today is a big day for Dave. He leaves his job at Burg Finsterguen, and in October he finally gets his UK pension. So this may be his last day of work. He’s certainly earned it. We’re packing up the house until we can pack no more, then we’re going to enjoy ourselves, do some mountains and explore. Usually in summer we’re too busy with work and holiday houses to do much.

Other news is that we can take our Austrian pension to the UK. But in a fine display of bureaucratic sexism, Dave can have his paid into our joint UK account, I have to have a separate one. Can I set up a new UK account without residency? No. But I have got an extension of when my pension is paid into the account here, so maybe we’ll be in the UK before that happens, at least I can transfer it manually.

And the holiday houses are still chasing us, we’re helping out a mate who had taken one over, but is stuck now in the UK for a while. I’m just hoping this really is the last time I have to muck out after guests!

Bugs

Taking a break from packing, getting annoyed by Austrian bureaucracy, waiting for solicitors to get their fingers out-pingdemic, BAH! It’s the main bug time here in Lungau, here are a few!

Stasis

I guess this is a point every house move goes through. Waiting for the solicitors to get their fingers out and do the deal. The seller wants to get going, we want to get going. Why does it have to take so long? When we left the UK, with no chain either side, we did the whole thing in six weeks. It’s now four weeks since the searches were sent out and they were instructed on June 11th.

I admit patience is not my strong point!

Swingle makes it all more complicated!

How do we go home? There are so many options, all made more difficult by Swingle We’ve offered to buy her a ticket so she can make her own back…

Route 1. We drive with our left hand drive car a couple of days ahead of the lorry with the furniture having some friends meet it and help to load, because we have to stop for dog breaks, maybe even an overnight. A van can do it in half the time we will take. Simple, especially as it looks like Boris has said we won’t need to quarantine. We have our green pass for double jabs for getting through Europe. Sorted? Car. No UK left hand drive car buyers will even answer my call, they want sports cars not a Fiat panda. Register it in UK, have found a firm, but it will be a day/overnight from Wales to take it there to get all the forms done. But we can only drive it to the test centre, nowhere else. But it would be easier than trying to swim through all the forms and new MOT etc ourselves, if a bit expensive.Thanks Brexit. Sell it locally in Wales? One local dealer has said they would take it, probably for parts or scrap. We paid for the car, feel we should keep it. We’re not bothered about driving a LHD on the wrong side of the road…

Oh and which way? Cherbourg to Poole, pop in to son en route? Dog doped in car for four hours. Calais and tunnel, easy and it actually seems a shorter journey time. No dog doping. Or go to Zebbrugge then Hull and head south, maybe get the car registered on the way.

Route 2 Sell the car here, buy new in UK. There is a firm that you can go with in the cab, and the dog too. Except she’s never been in a crate, we’d have to dope her…possibly a lot.

Route 3 Sell car and go on train. Eight changes and pee breaks? Muzzle the dog?

Route 4 Swap car for a RHD here, but probably too late for the paperwork.

Route 5 Hire a van and drive ourselves. But would have to do the return journey and many European firms won’t let their vans cross the channel at present.

Brilliant ideas please!

Leaving and letting go

I’ve run the village library for over five years now and have loved every minute, especially the training weeks in Strobl, which were almost like a holiday! The only downside was that all the books were in German, snigger! I can read them, but it’s such a long, slow process that I’d rather be in English on my Kindle.

I ran it a lot on my own as no one would come and help (was it me?), and so was limited on how many events and meetings I could do. But I had two teenagers for a couple of years, and we did the Advent market in Burg Finstergruen, standing in the cold for two days at something minus selling our discarded books. We did a Fairy tale day there too with a picture book cinema on the projector. I moved the rooms so all the children’s books and adults were separate, started our own Picture book cinemas, got a road sign, as half the people didn’t know where the library was. Offered a book delivery service to no interest.

We had special advents in the library, with cakes, biscuits and coffee. We wrapped discarded books for surprise Christmas presents which went down well! Put a sofa in one corner so people could relax, I think it was mostly bounced on by the kids! A highlight was when the kindergarten kids would visit, bringing a welcome noise and chaos, I would ask them their full names when they got their books, that the pace was a tip afterwards was better than order. I did read to them sometimes, but that was difficult as they didn’t understand my accent! Readers’ summer, where the kids would have a little books and got a stamp, after three visits they got a free ice cream at the shop. Ran it for adults too, and the most active got a bottle of wine at the end of summer!

Then Ingrid came along and for a while it was wonderful, we ran summer events for the kids and had a ball. Then the bug came along and Ingrid returned to work. We used the time to do an inventory, but something went wrong and half the books we thought had gone, later turned up! Then I was on my own again, then with the move, trying to find a successor. In the end, I put an ad on a local Facebook group and I now have two ladies taking over, sharing the library between them. We had the Mayor and deputy mayor come and do a farewell bit, speeches and flowers which I loved and a voucher for the restaurants in the village, Dave and I will feast for the next couple of Sundays. I just wish I had known that the council had a huge store of photos and documents that need cataloging, would have been a job right up my street.

So, I’ve trained them in the system, them doing in six weeks, what I did in eighteen months, and I won’t be sad never to have to do the yearly registration form again. I’ll miss the quiet air in there, the friendship of other librarians, we’re a special lot, and the fun when we had events. I hope I may find a library near our new home, and all the books will be in English, I can shop for second hand ones again, collect horse books….

Out now; Horses and Heartbreak

The last in my memoirs, which are my testimony to the world. I found them incredibly difficult to write too.

The third and final memoir finds Anna at the Millennium with a new life beginning. Without a clue but armed with a degree from the Open University, she jumps into finding work. Her first job in a small office brings challenges, a tough boss, and a steep learning curve.

Despite these challenges, the old passion unexpectedly returns as she catches the horse lovers’ virus again. This and the aftereffects of 9/11 ricochet her into another job, where her passion can finally be fulfilled.

All these changes bring problems to her marriage and the resulting crisis changes her life forever.

Can God bring her to healing and reconciliation? Can she stay in one place long enough to find peace and fulfilment?

Bought!

After a week of stress, nearly putting in offers for houses that, well really desperation, I got an automated email from an agent. I looked casually at it, as even I was getting house fatigue. The pictures looked familiar, and it slowly began to dawn, this was a house south wales we had loved right back in April, but it was over budget and went quickly. I rang the agents who said the sale had fallen through due to a relationship breakdown. I rang Steph, our daughter who’s buying with us and said we would have to shift if we wanted this one. She had a look and rang the agents to register our interest.

The next day, I was on tenterhooks, and finally gave in and rang her. She had organised a video, and had given them our financial arrangements. The video came in the afternoon and we put an offer in at asking price. Then I heard nothing over the weekend and we guessed that all the viewings we’d heard were arranged had gone ahead. Dave and I were so low. We even began to seriously consider staying on here renting.

On the Monday I rang Steph, who said she had not told us anything to stop me bouncing off the walls. Our offer had been accepted! The owner wanted to get rid of the place, we have no chain and have money in place, and we were the first.

WOOOHOOOOO!

So we now are continually looking at the plan, video and I have the most enormous to do list to get us over there! We thanked God too, for bringing us the house we had so wanted and for healing for the couple who had lost it.

What a week!

We’ve been working so hard at it all this week. We’ve spent hours trawling through our areas. Selected several. Even had one walk round viewing. All sold. Then another came back up again that I fell in love with back in April but was sold. Sale had fallen through. So we had a virtual look around and put in an offer for the asking price…

As a Christian, I believe that God has already prepared a place for us, I just need to come to terms with my ingrained intolerance of uncertainty.

As we wait, I am so chronically tired that if it all falls through, I am walking away from the whole thing until next week. Have a lovely weekend.

Rent or buy?

We have been searching so much of the UK houses on the Net, as we’re still in Austria. We hear about how the market is crazy. And it seems true. We have seen houses all over the country we like, and they are sold within a few days. We need to be on the ground so we can go and view quickly, it’s unfair to ask our daughter to take time and drive miles. The last one was a real gift horse, all the way to Lowestoft, for the house to need major work, which had all been carefully left out the photos. Some agents do virtual viewings, others don’t. Some say the owners’ wont accept an offer form someone who hasn’t viewed.

We’ve extended our search to Great Yarmouth, Gainsborough, Cleethorpes, Skegness. We took Wales off the list as we heard you can’t get in quick enough, but there are some places that haven’t sold even so. All these seem to be further away from family, which is the aim of coming back.

So now, it’s do we delay until things calm down? Do we rent -using our capital? Or just jump in and buy somewhere on spec? What if we hate it when we get there? I’m all geared up and looking forward to living in a town. But, deep down, I would like to go back to New Milton where we used to live. We could just about afford a garage there. I just cant see my way out of this.

Wet