A bad blogger now goes to the pub

Wow... nearly 6 weeks since I last blogged, that's bad.

I'll update why next post but for now a update on the last few days ....

It started 220 miles away in West Sussex.

Last day in the cottage in West Ashling. Mad busy day for me getting it ready for the removals people and trying to get a clean as well (before the professional clean we have to have as tenants)  Busy day for Rachel as it was her last day at work. This beauty had to be rescued from the conservatory spiders.

Leia never gets to eat from our plates but a cycle down to the chippy for my tea and as the plates were surplus to requirements she got the gravy. She did a sound job of cleaning the plate as well !! 

Then off for a late evening cool down walk to Funtingdon church across the corn and pig fields. 

Very apt as the sun set on our time south.  

I had a last beer on the bench in front of the cottage as the twilight eased off to allow night to fall. 

The mill pond going to sleep 

Skip forward just short of 24 hours and a van load of cottage is delivered to the Staffordshire moorlands, closely followed by a bloke on his motorbike, with the rear being brought up by Rachel with a Rover full of 'stuff' include a dog !

Now we could have set to to organise - well we did a bit but we opted for a drive to the Black Lion pub - Consall, on the canal and the railway line.

It's not fine dining at all  but pub grub so it went down well as did the couple of pints of 'Black Lion'. We walked back through the valley in the fading twilight and up the hill through the woods to our cottage.....

So saturday,  21st July 2018 we took a lovely walk down the canal to collect the car (and have coffee and cake at the pub. )

I was lucky to hear a train readying to leave Consall station was we walked to the pub from Consall lock.

We stayed long enough at the pub to see the train come back through, it is a majestic sight and well worth a  visit to the pub and or the railway. 

The rest of the day was sorting and boy do we need a sort.... two cottages into one is a task for sure. 

Sunday we were celebrating our sons and daughter in laws new garden area.... they have worked hard to make a safe play area for Teddy.

No real rest as Monday was spent doing jobs in and around the house and rachel went off to her new job.  Tuesday saw me off again south to meet the cleaners for the cottage and sorting the garage out down there. As the carpets were wet from the cleaning and after taking wine with our good neighbour Jillian I pumped up the airbed and kipped on the kitchen floor !!

Today I met the agent and handed over the keys and closed the door on our life 'down south'.

Then is was a three and a half hour drive back up to the boat.... what a mess, dust and cobwebs everywhere but now I have the time to get some work done - no excuses and then some cruising when the holiday boats ease down in early September.

Plenty of chatting with my boaty neighbours getting all the news. I am waiting to see who we get as new neighbours when Mandy heads west to the Shroppie. 

Note to us, well done for all the hard work and planning to get back to a 'normalish' life. Time for friends and family and hobbies again - I hope  !!