Sunday 15 November 2015
Sunny spells 18 degrees
Spent fair portion of the day today battling with the brambles. They are well entrenched and it took a number of hours to start making an impression.
Saturday had been a busy day. I had started at 10.30 at a nearby village. The lady had asked to meet me in the car park by the entrance to the cemetery and I was early and looked at the gay display of chrysanthemums on the dull grey stone graves and thought of the Paris atrocities. The lady arrived, smartly dressed, and we walked up to the house and she knocked on the door. If this was a divorce, it wasn't going well.
The door opened and a slight man with a firm hand shake stood there. We toured the house, the man following and saying very little. His eyes were little chips of coal, pared down clothing, close clipped hair. Very cold demeanour.
The house was delightful and country style. Two small children - a little girl with a gappy smile and two wriggling cats - a boy doing his homework, serious face and lined paper filled with his careful text.
I measured up and the man said he had to go and could I come back in the afternoon to do photos. Lovely. I just adore spending the whole of my Saturdays working. Said OK and walked back to the car with the lady. She said I may have noticed that they were not getting along well? I said I had. She said they were divorcing because he hits her and had started hitting her during her second pregnancy. I was shocked but she hadn't finished. What had finally 'closed the circle' (her words) was when her 16 year old daughter had slapped her in the face whilst they were having dinner at the grand parents. Something had snapped and she had finally moved out. She glanced away and her eyes were full of tears. I was looking back at the house and thinking 'you evil, cowardly bastard'. He is a school teacher. I decided to write an anonymous letter to his school, once the house was sold and the money shared out.
Back to my town and did a revisit on the Friday property with the NZ ladies and their friend. One spanner in the works is the garage; integral to the building but not belonging to it. Had a coffee in the sunshine and then to our local big town and saw a wonderful house which I realised was already on my colleague's books. We have an agreement not to take one another's properties. Like something out of a house magazine. 18th century but tastefully done for once. All of the original features in place, including wonderful cast iron radiators from the early 20th century. I thought back to a similar house where the new owners had put air con units, like giant moths, on the mellow stone walls.
Dizzy with hunger. Had a croissant filled with cheese and cherry tomatoes as the only other alternative were baguettes the size of barrage balloons. Why is it, in a country famous for its cheese, all you ever find in sandwiches is the evil Emmental? Drank lots of fizzy water and told myself I was not exhausted. I am going to have to go back to the doctor for this terrible fatigue.
Took photos of the mornings house. The man had decided to do the housework so there was stuff thrown everywhere, chairs on the table, beds still not made. Fortunately I am used to taking pictures around the crap.
Back home and had ginger tea and sat in the garden. OH gone fishing but came back early and made wonderful cod with herbs and stir fry veg.
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