I had a couple of busy weeks back home where I found the house in a reasonable state of repair given the time away and the fact I suppose that tenants will never look after the property like you would. I had a little painting and repairs to do. The garden on the other hand was overgrown and needed major surgery as did the shed which had rotted. My pal Billy provided one of his guys who re-roofed and re-floored the shed and cut back the bigger tress at the back whilst I got stuck into the rest of the garden including power washing the stonework and decking – two flatbed truck loads of garden waste were taken away.
Before
After
Diane had kindly lent me her car for the duration with coincided with COP 26 at the Exibition Centre, the traffic was a nightmare getting back to the boutique hotel EK each evening.
I did meet two of the prospective tenants whilst on my restoration project – an Israeli woman & a Chinese guy – both relocating, but with two kids each- they were not going to be longterm . Diane & I also caught a brief glimpse in passing of a third, a single mad cat lady with a handicapped cat. We initially went for her, which caused ructions, me having mistakenly giving the Israeli the impression the house was hers to move into, LOL. Anyhow the mad cat lady (a psychologist) proved herself in need of one of her fellow professionals in the end. She had numerous outrageous demands amongst which were a minute querying of all the contract details, that the shed, newly renovated and tidied out, should have all tools removed -as she preferred her own, and as the house was advertised unfurnished the TV stand left for tenant convenience should also be dumped. In the end the both the agents and us decided SHE should be dumped! Meeeeow.
Diane came over one afternoon to help with replacing the curtains that had been damaged with condensation from the windows
All repairs completed & new lamps and curtains it was ready for the next tenants, whoever they turn out to be?
Restoration over it was time to return to Greece. I had a quick visit to Spencer Street – our old flat and caught up with Tony my pal from those days, who still lives there.
Don’t know if Im getting out of touch or what? but I thought the prices at Heathrow were crazy for a beer & a snack !
