Shit happens

The weekend just gone wasn't one of my best and certainly not one to write home about. But I am here now so I'm may as well make a record for the journal. On Saturday morning we left home to go to the flat in Cranfield just before 10 o'clock so that we could move Robert out and take collection of keys. It was no surprise really when we arrived there, to find that he'd already vacated. Unfortunately the spare key that I'd brought wasn't the right one for the front door, so for a start we couldn't get in. We went round to the back of the bungalow via Betty the neighbours back yard and saw that Robert had left the top bedroom window slightly ajar. Betty lent us a step-ladder and a wrench and Phil got the window open enough for me to climb in and open the front door. This wasn't a great start and things didn't get any better when Phil went to unload the car only to find that the lid had came off the emulsion during the journey over and the back of his car was covered in white paint. It was my fault of course and I can tell you he was not a happy chappy.

Once we had gained entry it was obvious that Robert had never bothered to clean up and the place was a total shit heap. Okay not the worst we have seen in our time but nonetheless still disgusting. It took me 3 hours just to clean the fridge/freezer and the ceramic hob. The whole place smelt of smoke which was also embedded in the carpets, upholstery and bedding. Phil and I scrubbed and scrubbed for most of the day and got home around teatime feeling absolutely knackered. Saturday night was spent in front of the telly with cheese and wine watching the first episode of the autumn serious of X-Factor. How sad are we?

Phil took Sunday off; he picked up Georgina and they went to see Wild Child at the cinema and then went to the Red Hot restaurant for a buffet lunch. I went to the shops for milk and the Sunday papers and then took myself to the Cranfield flat to carry on with the cleaning. After buying the bargain IKEA mini kitchen last week we were going to replace the kitchen at the Cranfield flat but we have decided to put this project on hold until next year. The plan for now is to clean up the flat as best we can for one more let and then totally revamp the kitchen and bathroom and totally redecorate the whole place before moving in and eventually selling.

After leaving Cranfield I drove to the CCF to check we hadn't had any more leaks. Fortunately all was okay so I left the city centre and drove to the TMA flat. Phil had done a viewing and noticed that the rubbish hadn't been collected. My boot was full of crap but I managed to load in 7 or 8 bags of rubbish and off loaded them at the Bleak Hall tip. Flat stuff done for the day, I decided to go to David Lloyd for a workout and a shower but I was so tired when I got there I decided to just head for the cafe for a late lunch and a glass of wine, which I thought was well deserved.

Yesterday morning Phil went to hire a Rug Doctor machine from the dry cleaners in Giffard Park and we went back to Cranfield. I got straight into cleaning the cooker which was full of disgusting fat while Phil got stuck into cleaning the carpets and the upholstery. He has really got the knack with this machine and the carpets almost looked like new when he'd finished. We worked all morning and came home for lunch just before 1pm. As we pulled up outside our house and started unloading the tools I heard someone call my name. I looked up to see Sandy hanging outside her bedroom window and she gestured for me to go to her front door. I think in a previous blog that I said that I thought Sandy had left home (home, Alan and the kids). Well once inside her house Sandy told me the whole sad story. Turns out that my nosey intuition was spot on. I won't go into details because that wouldn't be fair; all I will say is that her situation is far worse than even I could have imagined. We swapped mobile numbers and I told her to call if me and Phil could help in any way. It's a real shame she's gone, she was my best neighbour in the whole of the cul-de-sac. I hope I am wrong but I have a feeling that things are going to get ugly across the road.

I had typed up this rather depressing blog before dipping into my Outlook to check for new emails. Amongst the usual junk mail there was a message from a friend with some very sad news. I haven't had time to digest the news yet and so unable to share. What I will say, is that it makes all my rants and raves pale into insignificance. A quick read of this entry and I think I really do need to change my perspective on life and be more like Phil and think of the glass has been half full instead of half empty.