Pigeon shock

There’s always something you miss when you’re packing – and in our case it was a large pigeon and a cake tin behind the plinth of a kitchen cupboard. Eeeeeww!! Not a dead pet, but a visitor who fell down the chimney. Apologies to anyone who has eaten at our house lately, especially if you were served cake.

Other than that, no big surprises. Thanks to all who expressed concern about my branch. Yes, it got moved safely, along with all the other random bits of nic-nackery. It was really exciting when the lorry arrived - it was just so, well, BIG and SHINY!! Genuinely exciting! The kids got a small ride in it after I convinced the men I wouldn’t sue the company if anything happened.

In fact the removal men were lovely – they checked if anyone needed a cuddly toy before packing the beds (you know how Colin can kick off) and even had time to play with a tiny frog who had hidden illegally in the back of the lorry, in one of the plants. The frog got through customs because he was so cute, and we named him Brooklyn and made him a home. ‘How did the removal men have time for all this?’ I hear you cry. Well it turns out they didn’t, because they didn’t finish until10pm. But at least they were friendly eh?

Moving and Changing

Today we're packing as we’re moving house. Seven years ago we moved over the road. Five years before that, we moved round the corner, so moving a few miles west is very adventurous. Whatever happens it’s been a good experience because it’s forced me to tidy up and clear out. It has also hilighted a number of differences between my husband and myself (like we needed a few more?) but I’ll leave that for another day.

If you are bored this summer I suggest you imagine you’re moving and 'purge the house of extraneous matter' as Bridget Jones said. Chances are, you have more stuff than you think you do. I had a cupboard full of cleaning products for goodness sake, and I’m hardly Anthea Turner.

So we’re not carrying any excess baggage now, and that’s a good feeling. All over West Sussex people are waking up gleefully looking at the stuff they bought from us at the car boot sale a few weeks back. “How did I cope without this shoe rack?”, exclaims tattooed man from Shoreham. “This karaoke machine has brought my whole family back together!” says crazy Glaswegian singing man. “Why did I quibble over this beach hut coat rack, it was worth £1 after all” says Mr. Best-phone-the-wife-to-check. Ahhh, warm feelings. We are glad to have been of assistance.

So, if you come over this summer and see something horrendous, keep your opinions to yourself please – the thing that you’re looking at has been purposefully kept, tidied, packed, moved and unpacked. I hope the removal men are friendly because some of these 'saved things' look like nothing but I am keeping them. An old branch springs to mind. A big stone. A dried seed head. Who can predict what people find precious? If the removal men giggle at my branch I will wish I'd gone with the another company. I certainly won't be sharing the left-over World Cup final cake with them anyway. We shall see...