It is almost like Hawaii....

Tuesday 6 October 2015

Heavy rain bursts 15 degrees

Was lying in bed and feeling slightly hung over when OH burst in and reminded me that I had to be on a take on at 10 am.  Galvanised (sort of) into action, shuffled together paperwork, on with the motley, calmed the hair and out into the morning.  Skies leaden and grey with piercing rays of sun.  Drove along thinking of Stairway to Heaven.  Not a tractor in sight.  Thank heavens for rain forecast.

There was a man waiting for me at the church and he was perspiring heavily, which was strange as it was barely 14 degrees.  Followed him to small 1975 property, not in a calm position as they had told me, but just off the exit to the auto route and with a fair amount of traffic passing on one side.  Brain still in a fog and it wasn't until they took me into the 100m2 pool side room with fresco of Hawaii, that I remembered which property it was.

The property, apart from the pool side room, was rather strange - most of it was downstairs including one bedroom, the bathrooms, kitchen, living room, a brand new kitchen which seemed a bit of a tight fit for a lady in a wheelchair and a large conservatory.  There were two rooms which I would have to call offices as they were under 9m2 and upstairs was just a landing and a fairly large bedroom but with very sloping mansard walls where I could stand up comfortably in the middle but nowhere else - I am 5' 3"so you can imagine that it was not up to much in the height department.

Back downstairs and had coffee in the poolside room and the lady brought out some cups which looked like they had been chewed up by the dishwasher.  I took the less battered one and found a space where I could drink without cutting my lip.  Her husband was busy sticking black plastic on a large polystyrene cone.  The lady had ordered some cheap jewellery to sell at a vide grenier and the cone was the support.  I signed them up and tried not to notice the heavy traffic thundering periodically past the front door.  It will look good on the website and it is all relative - some people may not find it too noisy.   Deaf people, quite possibly...

Back then to my town and had just stopped to get some bread when the phone rang and it was my 12.45 client who had marked 11.45 in her diary.  Rats!  I still didn't have the keys for the first property, the owner not answering her phone and the key holders not at home, so I met her up at the supermarket and we bought a sandwich and went and ate it in the garden of the first house.  Sat on the deck and it was crunchy with a thousand acorns.  She said her husband was sure not to like the yard. 

Yard has a completely different meaning for Americans and Australians.  A Brit thinks of a yard as a patch of concrete where you play ball games.  It is something surrounding schools - the school yard - or exists behind terraced housing and is where you hang out the washing to dry.  Think Coronation Street.  To the Yanks and the Aussies however, it is a garden.  Think lawn and trees and shrubs.

Her husband rang and said had she seen the chateau yet so we packed up and went over and were there two hours.  She took many photos and said her husband would absolutely love it but couldn't get over until early November.  Their last posting (he works in mining) had been in Kazakhstan and she said there was just obscene wealth - too the extent of, for example, children from the same family being brought separately to school in their own Bentleys.  Totally corrupt society.  Vast gulf between haves and have-nots.  Doesn't sound sad to be out of there.  She spent a lot of time talking about their five year old and I started to develop an antipathy towards their five year old.  Managed to keep the owner's son from pointing out all the bad points in the house.  Went and had coffee in nearby town and talked about the property.  Skies went absolutely black.

Back to our town and caught the plumber in his office and tied him down to going to the NZ ladies house tomorrow and also got him to produce a quote for another house.  Back home and was absolutely starving so we ate early - a most excellent chili which had been simmering in the oven for hours.  Walked dog.  Watched Private Benjamin.  Looked rather 80's but I still laughed a lot.