getting into the swing of village life...

so we have made it...last night at about 6 30 one of the ladies of the village came round to ask if we would like to have the crib for a night ! yes the idea is that the little crib that they have in the church over Xmas is passed around the houses in the village that have children before going 'home' to the church for a service of carol singing and blessing! we then have to take it onto a neighbour's house! Guess it all has something to do with Jesus in the community - maybe having a sleepover!! So the crib will be in residence with us and the Bulgarian Muslim builders next week for one night only!- tune in for pics and updates!



Nelly surpassed herself this week when we headed over to a friend's for lunch- C was one of my former clients before leaving a well known DIY retailer and heading North 'ish - so we met for lunch at her place. Her little boy is 2.5 years old (one of Nelly's favourite ages ) and they played really well running around the house while C and I caught up with HB gossip etc and the best places to go in North Oxon and South Northants ....On two occasions things went quiet! the first one - Nelly was found in the kitchen at the table standing on a chair eating butter from a fork and feeding Seb with the same, but most of it was in his hair! Second occasion - they had been upstairs, N on her way down tripped over the last two steps, cried and on closer inspection what we initially thought was some awful bleeding turned out to be my newest unused, untouched by Nelly hands MAC lipstick!!!!!!!!

Found another playgroup today with some lovely.people ...distinct lack of green.....and lots of 'moved out ofs.'..in evidence!

you know you have REALLY arrived when....

you leave the front door open for just a minute or two ...as you run around the garden with a 20 month old like a mad thing, dash back in to grab keys and bag and chase off to a new music group you heard of in a village three miles away ....AND your husband calls to let you know he found Robin Red Breast in the house perched on the side of a champagne flute on the kitchen window sill after he got back from a DIY shopping trip!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Xmas everyone!!!!

that would have made a great pic but no....

Aga Saga ........

OK agas are the essence of country living , about six miles away is the head office of Fired Earth and Aga where you can buy an Aga, and any other thing that you could possibly want for the Aga - well I now have an Aga toaster , Aga thing to keep the hot plate cover clean! , Aga enamel cleaner, and some Bake O Glide that allows you to fry an egg without any fat on the hot plate!! THanks Mum!

It's a whole new world and I was fairly sceptical when we bought the place with an Aga and was heard to say ...Well if it is no good then we can always sell it...But after a week and a half I can say I am a bit of a convert! Yikes does that make me a country person - I will be sporting green before you know it!

No seriously I have roasted a chicken, mastered the art of simmering a number of pans at a time and worked out which oven does what ( after the first disastrous ready meal melt down in the Roasting Oven! ) so today our good friends Lisa and Karen came over for lunch and I managed fabulous roasted squash and carrots with thyme that N could not get enough of...and a roasted veg tart with blue cheese...- it was all Yum Yum Yum....and was fairly easy to do and then leave to keep warm while we did the guided tour!

tune in soon for the ' buying green wellies 'episode!

you know you have arrived in the country when.....

....



you are the only one wearing sunglasses in November in the winter sun ....



everyone else in the place is wearing some sort of shade of green!!!!! just not in my colour palette!

not seen anyone wearing a Barbour yet...but will report as soon as I have -

you do not drive any sort of 4 x 4 and by God you never will - please feel free to shoot me if we ever get one! I know I said that about a Volvo, but we have a Saab not a Volvo!



you expect the takeaways not to deliver and when they say they do you simply do not believe them and chase off in the dead of night after defrosting the car to collect the ( very acceptable as it happens ) take away curry ....



you have never really noticed people looking at you and your daughter in London and then in one fell swoop in one country pub , one lunchtime a table next to you suddenly starts talking about the one child policy in China in such loud voices ...and then you are in the loo and someone walks in telling her child that ' that little girl is a lovely China Doll' and when you come out of the cubicle she then tells you that your daughter is a lovely China Doll too....!

Oh well we have arrived! bienvenue a la campagne!!!

one whole week ...

since our stuff arrived and we officially moved in. Took Nelly to a new playgroup yesterday in a nearby village, they had loads of fab toys and N did painting and sticking - she made a Xmas card! it was in the funniest little old village hall - a really dilapidated pre-fab type arrangement and there was even a framed photo of the Queen! ( seemed to have switched on underlining by mistake! ) we discovered details of local music and yogabugs groups as well as details of other playgroups i the area...

this morning I got up and had a shower in our bathroom ( the pump was set up yesterday ) - had a lovely shower and came down to the kitchen to find you could have a shower in the kitchen at the same time !!! OOOOPs bang went happy contented faces in the morning - we finally isolated the problem and will not bore you wiht the detail but think we should not need to take down the ceiling in the kitchen!

Nelly has now come down with a streaming cold - those Northants bugs - or they could be Oxon ones as the group we went to yesterday was in Oxfordshire; we are so close to borders here within ten minutes you can pass through three counties ! SO today she was clingy beyond belief and watched DVDs most of the day with a brief interlude for a play at the swings to try and blow away the cobwebs. All in all it made bedtime a heck of a lot easier!

Some pics from the last few days..........


The dining room
Delilah settling in nicely - still not allowed out of the house though!

N's room

Rob about to go out in the evening snow to scare the locals!!!!

Relaxing !! and for those of you that know R this will amaze you that he can sit relaxed surrounded by chaos!
Nelly with the electronic babysitter! by the way the cupboards are white beneath the blue plastic protective cover!

Day five

sorry no pics....today we had great plans to go out for a long country walk through the autumn leaves! It has rained rained and rained non stop, this evening after putting N to bed I came down and it was snowing! but it did give us the chance to unload even more boxes - so think there are only about 8 or nine left to do ( that is pure guess work as I have not even ventured into the garage and that contains the contents of our cellar!! ) tomorrow our friend who lives about 14 miles away is coming over with her little girl and then my Mum disappears back up North . Apart from bedtime,which is getting better, N is really settling into the house - she loves the space and spends ages pushing bears and dolls from one end of the house to the other in the buggy! after having lived in a London house with what in essence were three and a half floors and lots of stairs she is in her element here!

Reason for no pics by the way that N has taken to grabbing the camera and taking pictures of herself while making a ridiculous funny face - they mainly come out as part of her clothing but she has a great time and I thank the day that digital cameras were invented while my Mum tries to grab her disposable wind up version from N's paws! today she even managed to wind it on herself! That is one idea for the Xmas list then I feel...

I have spent an inordinate amount of time in Tescos these last three days - 1) major shop to the Extra store....2) second shop a day later to pick up all the things we forgot in the big store because it was SO enormous...3 ) trip today to get one thing and one thing only... ( Sink Unblocker ! don't ask! something to do with our builders and a large pan of hot oil! ) and came out with Unblocker, bread, The Observer because I cannot live without my fix of Food Monthly and some chocolate treats to ease the pain of box unpacking!!!

Why is it that as soon as you enter a supermarket you cannot come out with just the one thing on your list! I know the answer of course and I can hear my friends and former colleagues from Tesco days screaming at their PCs as I write this ...but shopping on the local market town of Brackley yesterday really brought it home to me what these large stores do to local economies...

anyway camera charging again now so more pics of N's pyjamas tomorrow!

day four!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well found the charger and the cable to download the pics!! so Saturday night in is updating the blog...
yesterday we went to a coffee morning and then onto a playgroup

so here are some images from the last few days ....

sleep was easier this evening only cried for about 10 minutes and this evening we managed to get a TV set up so we could tune into the Dancing ladies as we call Strictly - Nelly has really enjoyed chasing round the house back and forwards with her buggy and Delilah has had a free rein of the hosue since the Bulgarians left for London last night for the weekend...



Nelly in her new bath!
Life's essentials.....jo M candle, clarins hand cream and filtered water!
hey like the look of our new kitchen taps ....it will catch on in 2008!! our Corian worksurface was meant to be dleivered in three weeks time! ooops in the meantime we have gone back to the Belfast sink and this fab tap montage! ...the work surface is now delayed until Jan 14th - so this look will be a good one for Xmas!
Nelly walking mile in her fathers shoes...in a hotel in Deddington
some of the furniture in situ!
the kitchen ( the units are hi gloss white not that lovely blue colour 1)

A final look at our lovely kitchen - will miss this when we go...
.....

the removal man / van cometh....
looking empty the ST J Road sitting room...

Llokin gvery empty/.....!

Nelly and her boys at the last playgroup before the Pickfords van arrived!

A special moment with Hati and baby Jotch...

The ST J Farm Road possee!!!

day three

well it is five thirty in the morning on day 3 in the house...waking up early as we went to be exhausted at 10 last night. Nelly had another difficult bedtime which has been so unusual as she was a dream at the old house but I guess this is something that we just have to go though.

I woke early and have let Delilah cat out of the study -she has been camping in there as with a bunch of Bulgarian builders in the house as well we cannot trust for the front door always to be closed. We had a near miss on the first night when she made a dash for the front door and straight into the garage - where I managed to close the doors and rescue her about an hour later after she had a good explore. She is happily wandering around and finding her feet. I briefly let her out last night and she raced up the stairs only to wander through the bathroom across the newly painted white floor - ooooops lots of screaming and shouting ensued ! only four little paw marks quite sweet really! !! At the old house she ran through wet concrete when we had our kitchen extended..

It is so quiet here - the occasional car drives past ( at this time in the morning ) and I just heard an amazing owl call - N would be so excited as that is her second favourite animal sound- after the snake!

yesterday was spent emptying the boxes in our room - I never realised how many pairs of shoes and boots that I own - I can now see them all in the walk in wardrobes so hopefully will wear a few more pairs. I did throw away at least 7 pairs , it breaks my heart but has to be done.
We also braved the IKEA in Milton Keynes to buy dividers for the new kitchen cupboards, two of those mini steps so I can reach into the high cupboards in the kitchen and Nelly a little table and chairs.

This morning I have been invited to a coffee morning in the village! Hey we have arrived - I bumped into one of the neighbours in the local Tesco yesterday and she mentioned it then an invite came through the door...

Sorry no pics but still need to recharge the camera and find the download cable!

Sharing a house with Bulgarian builders is interesting! fortunately they are in the annexe so we do not feel on top of each other! will try for pictures later

we are here....

ok no photos and I am sitting on the bed surrounded by packing boxes but we are in - still V dusty and lots to do but we are here...we had fab send offs in London with tea chez Nelly's boyfriends ( photos to follow! ) on Monday and lunch with another on Tuesday before the pickfords lorry packed up and left...Last night we stayed at a hotel about 6 miles away and got here at 9 30this morning ready to move in . The lorry edged its way up the drive and unloaded...we then collected N's grandma from MK station and headed back for more unpacking...We emptied all of the kitchen boxes ( how many!!!!!) and then finally did N's bedroom after her tea...she loved seeing all of her toys coming out of the lorry and the boxes but did not want to go to bed - kicking and screaming for about half an hour! finally gave in at 9 15 when I put her in the cot and left her for 10 minutes, now fast asleep....anyway better get on and empty some more stuff into the wardrobe! Rob is nearly finished!!!!

more tomorrow and photos if I can find the recharging battery cable!

other things we are doing...

Bit of a photo trip now ....too much packiong and saying Au Revoir going on!!!



tea party with friends...soft play in Peckham followed by Burger King!!!" yikes but she got a free Matchbox car ( that was the boys toy but as she was the only girl there and all the boys had cars I asked for an exchange! she loves it !)

Afternoon Tea with Lisa and Karen in a tea shop in E Dulwich - Prosecco, Ealr Gray and sandwiches! ...yummy...
Tantrum moment over a broken DVD player!

Cleaning at the new house with our cleaner Ganka - Nelly's favourite...
One of the rooms I cleaned yesterday!
Shiny clean Aga - a floor covering of Cardboard to protect the new tiles...

Rob and Nelly brushing up in the hallway!
Happy gang of builders and cleaners!

First food cooked in the Aga !!! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOPs - a ready meal lasagne for N last night - put it in the Hottest oven for ten minutes! too hot I feel !

things we will and will not miss about west norwood...

for those of you who have ever been to SE27 - West Norwood here are some of the things that we will and will not miss!





We will miss......


the people in our street -
such a mix of people...those born in their houses 60+ years ago who married people from the same street, and those that we have known since arriving ( getting locked out on day two! ) those neighbours that we accosted and asked to look after our cat and since have shared numerous curries with! And those neighbours that have arrived in the last few years who are more than happy for us to pop round for a cup of tea / clove of garlic, olive oil /cup of sugar! ... or for N to share a bath with their boys or a bowl of pasta at their kitchen table....I suppose I am saying the ease that we have with all the people in ST J Farm Road...





Revamp http://www.revampinteriors.co.uk/
a fabulous emporium of fabrics...where we earned the nickname of Mr and Mrs Difficult..but where we can arrive at 11 for a browse, chat, meet people in the shop and chat some more and realise it is already 12 45 ...!


the library - http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/68572156-8A2A-4458-B932-2DEBD7FFB33C/0/WestNorwoodLibrary.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/LeisureCulture/Libraries/WestNorwood.htm&h=133&w=200&sz=6&hl=en&start=4&um=1&tbnid=JbjUj9YRHWA7RM:&tbnh=69&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwest%2Bnorwood%2Blibrary%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DHPEB,HPEB:2006-17,HPEB:en%26sa%3DN

pre Nelly - a previously undiscovered treasure...where else can you take a one year old on a wet Tuesday afternoon...also great books and no fines if you are a child!

The Views

the view on the way down to the station over London......on a clear day we can see the whole of Canary Wharf...

the fishmongers -
a good little plaice!!!!

Beamish and McGlue -

opened two years ago by James Nesbitt... when I went in realised it was owned by a woman I was in a play with nearly 20 years ago! Wow what a small world and great for carrot cake and coffee...

Cafe Girasol and Sorrento
not been open long but cafe Girasol does great Portuguese cakes..Sorrento - a true greasy spoon with fab pasta for about £3 a bowl!

Hollywood Nails - file and polish for a fiver! ! what more can I say!

The cemetery -
based on the fact that we have walked around it precisely once and it is an amazing place, Mrs Beeton, Julius Reuter, Sir Henry Tate all laid to rest in SE27 - as well as the fact that Rob did a major selling job on West Norwood to one of the people that made an offer on the house telling them all about the amazing cemetry ... they went and visited and made an offer !


The Rosendale

( on the fringe of SE27 but within walking distance of our house ) and was voted Gastropub of the year Time Out 2007! fab Ostrich with nutmeg last week!

the little farmers' market -
that is held in the high street every two weeks and started on the day we got our letter with details of referral! we were floating about two feet off the ground !





Newsagent on Wolfington Road -

whenever I used to go in at 7 30 on a weekday morning Mr P would ask ' Cat Hungry! ' nowadays he sees me during the day ( no work) popping in for the latest issue of Grazia!


The guys in Oddbins...
all round good guys - enthused about wine and normally playing good music in store..


South London Decorators Merchants..
so much paint copy of Farrow and Ball paint on our walls! and such friendly staff


the fact that we are a stones throw away from Dulwich...good bookshops, gift shops...clothes shops.etc



the hope that all the people who live in SE27 have that the place will get better !


WILL NOT MISS........

Woolworths
that has nothing on the shelves!

Pound shops ....
an ever increasing number of pound shops and chicken shops!


Yellow signs in the road -
announcing some anti social behaviour to put it mildly!



Parking

not being able to park outside the house


Dorothy Nichol -

formerly known as Olive W Norwood's premier shopping destination! the name says it all!

Traffic
The traffic from the South Circular into West Norwood

Education
The constant chat about where you are going to send your child to school! and she is not even two yet!


More Traffic
The traffic in general all over London ...the speeding in residential roads ...need I say more,..


no decent coffee shops within walking distance of the house/...


Redevelopment
the fact that Lambeth council constantly talk about development of the area always ends up with more pound shops and chicken huts!

Ridiculous Rcycling Policies

the fact that if I want my garden waste collected and I know that my neighbour has some too - that I call up the local Council and like a good citizen I ask them to collect my neighbour's garden waste too BUT no...they have to call up separately thus ensuring another trip from our ecologically friendly council!!!!!!!!!

back from glasgow...

it went Ok - hardest bit was waking up in the morning and realising how far away she was. I then spoke to Rob and we skyped each other - at which point she realised I was not at home and burst into tears...too hard..I was then desparate to get home and had to do the whole taxi to airport, plane journey and tube home but they cam eto meet me at the station.. but not something I want to repeat in the near future. Sitting at the airport I felt like I had had a limb removed not having either a baby or a buggy! and found it easy to identify with the two mums on the flight with young toddlers! One sounded just like Nelly shouting Mama Mama Mama!

Glasgow in the rain....

this is the first night that I will have ever spent away from N...I have come to Soctland for a meeting and will not be home until tomorrow afternoon so N is having a full on Daddy day and night! I am sure she will be fine but it does fell a bit like having a limb chopped off knowing she is so far away!

One week and two days to go ...will we be ready!

Yikes.....our penultimate weekend in London...and this time I don't think we will be back. Yes we escaped once before in Feb 1995 for two years to Oxfordshire but were back at the end of 96 before moving to this house in 97....but that time we still had all our friends in London and this time all our oldest friends have moved on and those that we have met since Nelly will come and stay!

.. So we move on Nov 13th, think we may check into a hotel for a night or two! and then move in with the builders! The main bedrooms that we will use are fine and the bathrooms should be finished as should the kitchen! .....crossing all fingers! but we have heating and all lovely new radiators in place too....

We were up at the house again yesterday and N and I went along to a playgroup in the village hall - met some local people and N bounced in the castle for a while! and made some big boy friends - well she is so used to being friends with boys that she is a right little tomboy!

A few more random photos - Nelly and I have just watched Strictly, watched the fireworks from the top of the house and now off to have a bath before bed...

Tiles in thekitchen are going down this week....

Shower in the annexe! hardly finished yet but it will be!

Our bedroom - with the new oak flooring down ...well think we can sleep in this one!

Our fab new bath - it is huge and very deep Starck bath!
Nelly's room new sash window - looking slightly like a prison cell with the masking tape on the window panes


R and N in the kitchen - it is amazing what a lick of Brilliant White can do for a place!

more of the new house

Noo Noo and R in the bedroom with the sun streaming in - a late October day!
check out the walk in wardrobes minus doors ...


Look how that creeper has grown up the house since July ...
the kitchen - now minus floor, cupboards, work surface - we still have a sink !

One of the trusty guys painting the Utility Room

Sun Drenched landing - white improves the light no end in the house

N looking cute one Friday recently on the way to the Tate Modern!

Something to make you laugh - yesterday we were at Nelly's friend Molly's house for coffee when Debbie pronounces that her older sons came home one day after they saw N at Monkey Music , saying that they wanted Molly to have trendy clothes just like Nelly and not pink sparkly shoes!!! D has since bought Molly some stripy tights and hopes that that will do the trick! I suggested that they take a trip down to Primark with their pocket money to buy her a few outfits!!!!!!

sleeping beauty chez ma mere...

the fruits of my pruning a couple of wks ago - aided by my Father in Law's hedge cutter two days later!