Financial frustration
Fantastic Frank (Turner)
Last one leaving
Steve Wright
So, the house situation rumbles on and on and on. Trying to get a low-cost mortgage for a relatively small amount of money is proving all but impossible it seems. Apparently, my permanent contract of employment is 'unusual' i.e. not the norm and may not be accepted by the building society despite the fact that they also have my P60 and a years worth of wage slips as proof of my earnings. Sometimes there is nothing to be done except wait and that is all we can do now...wait a 'yes' or 'no' verdict on our immediate future and we have no idea how long that decision will take.
I'm still relatively optimistic...and I still have a white feather on my driveway every day (which makes me smile and reminds me of Mum and Dad and the fact that they may be looking out for me)...despite pressure now being put on by various people in the chain who want to exchange contracts which we can't do until we have a firm mortgage offer.
We have been open with everyone involved and, if we lose the house we want for any reason, then we will just have to start again. We can always move to rented accommodation if we have too as long as we can find somewhere that accepts big dogs!
On Tuesday I went to Oxford and went with daughter 3 to see the totally wonderful Frank Turner who was putting on a show in the town hall there. I had got tickets at the last minute after seeing a few available on Twitter.
I love a good gig and this was a good gig. After a lovely supper at The Red Lion, where I had a stilton burger which was gorgeous, we wandered along to the venue and got ourselves a drink.
I had been worried that I was going to be the oldest person there but I need not have worried. There were people of all ages there, certainly some who I thought looked older than me..not that it really matters. I'm just aware that someone of my age may be a bit conspicuous among a crowd of youngsters having a good time.
Frank came on stage at 8.30pm and played for 2 hours. He was energetic, enthusiastic, happy, in good voice and was celebrating the last night of another successful tour. He and his band, The Sleeping Souls, tour all over the world and frequent many small venues in an effort to keep live music accessible to all.
We first saw him at The Cambridge Folk Festival several years ago and had never heard of him. We thought he was superb and so have followed his progress ever since. We have seen him in various venues and saw him performing with Billy Bragg at o2 which was very surreal as we usually see him up close as the venues are so small.
I stayed the night in Oxford and then set off home the next day and got home with no trouble which was a relief after my police experience of last week!
The other major event of my week has been the moving out of our youngest who has moved into a house in town with his girlfriend and another couple. I have yet to experience the 'empty nest' feeling that everyone keeps telling about because he still has a lot of his stuff here!
When I came home from work yesterday, the day he was going, I expected to find an empty bedroom and a bit of rubbish. What I found was a room that looked much the same as it did the day, week, month before. It was impossible to see what he had taken because there was so much still there.
As the day progressed I received various texts..'Mum, have you got any spare mugs?', 'Mum, have you got any cutlery we can have?', 'Mum, can we have some towels and bedding?' and, the classic 'Mum..I've forgotten my PS3!' so guess who made a trip with all of the above and lots of other stuff yesterday afternoon?
When I asked what he had actually taken in the morning his answer was 'clothes, shoes and my phone charger'. Priorities.
Today he has picked up his Mac and his African Land Snail so we are getting there. He has also, finally, decided to get rid of a load of clothes that he has been loath to get rid of for years.
I'm sure the 'empty nest' feeling will dawn on me soon but I'm excited for him and for them. It's how it should be. Our children should grow up and move on and I'm proud that all four of mine have done exactly that.
These days there is no reason to not stay in contact with anyone but I don't Skype yet.I'm sure I will in time but my aversion to talking on the phone, which is much better than it was, is compounded by people actually being able to see my while I'm speaking!! Weird, I know.
This morning I spent 2 hours listening to Radio 2 and Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs because hubby had told me that he had emailed a request in to the show for us for our Silver wedding anniversary...the old softie!...which we celebrate tomorrow.
I listened dutifully from the beginning of the show at 9am until 10.30 when I then began to doubt that his request would be read out. All I knew was that the longer there was no request read out, the more chance there was of us getting the coveted chocolates and champagne that goes to one lucky couple at the end of the show each week.
At 10.55 the last request started to be read out...'and our chocolates and champagne this week go to Russell and An....', we looked at each other, could it really be us?!? 'Russell and Ann'...no, it wasn't us!! So close.
Hubby was disappointed, I thought it was really sweet that he had got in touch and thought of doing it in the first place. It's really, really not something that he feels comfortable doing and it took forethought which was impressive!
So, that has been my week in relatively few words. I feel a bit like we're treading water and can't move forward with any of our plans but I do remain positive...pragmatic but positive.
Oh, and did I mention that I got tickets to go and see Cat Stevens in November?? I may have mentioned that last week but my memory is rubbish and I can't remember. This is a big deal. Cat Stevens was a massive part of my musical childhood. I never thought that we'd get the opportunity to see him live and now we are. I'm very excited about it!!
Have a great day and a fantastic week.
Much love
xxxxx
And happy anniversary to my long-suffering hubby. 'Looks like we made it'. xxx
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