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Published: March 26th 2008
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Small Truckload to Whangarei
Mostly stuff from the basement but a few items from upstairs as well! About two years ago we decided that we would like to pack up everything at home and go on our Big OE - live and work in England for two years. We were sort of attracted to this idea by the example of our good friends Les and Sue who had done exactly this a little while ago - except that we would not be drawn home after 15 months as they were with the prospect of a first Grandchild looming large and acting like the big magnet. No - we would plan ahead and hope that Richard and Mel would get the recipe (and the timing) right so we could have some time with our Grandson (what else were we expecting with the Harris history of producing boys!!) before we left.
Yep, suggestion is a fine thing so we planned to depart in March ’08 and they fitted in with that just perfectly!! They were married in April last year and Jaxon was born almost to the day 9 months later - in time for 8 weeks of cuddles and photos before we left.
Ian had been made redundant from his School Caretaker’s job of 13 years and
was working mostly in a Factory and also for one day as a Lawn Mowing Contractor cutting grass around large country houses in the Dairy Flat area (20km north of home). One year later Wendy was made redundant from her job of 19 years at Penguin Books so she soon returned to the job she really loved which was bus driving - it was very hard to not let on that the plan was for her to only be there for a little more than a year and there were many groans from the management when she finally told them late last year. I guess it was these forced career changes as much as anything else which acted as the catalyst for a change.
There was lots to do before we left and it seemed like all the time in the world to do them (hands up anyone who has thought that before? - OK hands down now!). There was the weighty problem of what to do with the house when we were away and also what were we going to do when we got back?? Richard and Mel were living in one of our rental properties which
they had bought from us (well, the bank bought most of it and we kind-of owned the rest ) but they had always said they would love to live in our house - so that is what has happened. They have moved to our place and are in the throes of selling their house - with Richard having spent every evening and most weekends for months working to improve the outside paths, parking, grounds, fences, painting etc etc etc. With the Property Market on the down turn he knew that only a perfectly presented property had any chance at all of selling and I can say without fear of contradiction that it all now looks just superb.
Then - where were we going to live when we came back in two years time (2 years ??? maybe we won’t come back for ages if we are having a really good time!) - we looked at places like Tauranga (too many old people and they had pushed the prices up far too high), somewhere in the Waikato (too cold) and then had a good look at Whangarei. Wendy’s brother Rod had lived there for some time and we had
visited quite often. It seemed like a really good go-ahead type of place which had all the things we might need when we got on a bit (like next year, I can hear somewhere?) - like good shopping, doctors, hospitals etc so we had a better look. The upshot was that Rod was subdividing his large section so he could build his own “home for when he was a little older” and we bought his existing house. Plans are well underway for extending and altering it once we return so we have something we can stay comfortable for some time to come.. You know what’s needed - no stairs, ramp to the entrance for the mobility scooter(s?) - that type of thing. Also the two new “his and hers” bedrooms with the en-suite between them (aka the anti-snoring ploy of sleeping in separate rooms which we have been enjoying for many years now). There is also, very conveniently, a sleepout attached to the garage which is just the place for family (or friends of course) to stay when they come to visit Nana and Grampa.
The biggest job was getting all of our stuff up to Whangarei and stored
in half of the garage. Rod had moved out when we finally finalized the purchase and we have rented out the house but not the garage - he has his stuff in one half and us in the other. With many trailer loads of boxes (had to get all of those books up there so we would have something to read in our later years) and excess stuff from the house, one 3 ton truck of “come-in-handy-one-day-can’t-throw-that-away” stuff from the workshop, Richard directing the disposal of equipment (keeping all of the best stuff for his use while we are away but not sure I will ever see it again in my workshop), one large removal truck (complete with the two burly blokes) for the main lot of furniture and many trips to the dump we finally got clear enough for Richard and Mel to move in a week before we left - while we “camped” in the House for sale.
Another project which really got away on me before we left was the swimming pool and deck replacement. A small accident while cleaning the leaves from the pool a few months ago prompted a bit closer look at the
whole thing - the pool liner was brittle, the metal framing very rusty (well - it WAS second hand when I had put it in 12 years previously) and a lot of the decking timber was rotten. I consulted the prospective owners/tenants and - predictably - they would like to retain the pool so I bought a new one (similar to the old but more plastic parts and less metal) and a truck-load of replacement decking timber. With a little help from my friends the old pool was dismantled and cleared away, the decking replacement was progressed, a digger sorted to clear out the new position for the pool and installation progressed. That was fine until one of our neighbours (don’t know who it was but I now don’t like them very much!!!) complained to the council that we were putting in an un-permitted pool. Upshot was all work had to cease and I had to obtain a building permit for the pool (because I had turned it through 90° to make the fencing more acceptable and give a better deck shape, the original permission was no longer acceptable). So I researched, drew, wrote, researched some more and finally put
in the application - with the payment of some $2700 for the privilege. As at the time of our departure I had still not heard anything from the Council so can just hope it does not now provide a headache for Richard to sort out. We are a bit mystified as to why anyone would complain as there was already a pool there and the approved plan (assuming it HAS been approved) is exactly what I had been intending anyway - all that has been achieved is a delay, a large sum of wasted money and a very disgruntled me!! Not to mention Richard having to finish off the project.
Despite these little set-backs in our planning we were ready to go on March 8th - or, as a very wise person put it, that which wasn’t done by the time we left would have to be done by somebody else or wait for two years!! How true.
We are presently in Thailand and I will now write about our adventures here and post it when we get to UK in a couple of weeks.
Bye for now,
The BBBOEers
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Roddis
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Chapter 1
Heh, what a great start!!!! Looking forward to many more.