what a busy day, and it poured with rain

The weather was due to be not so nice today and we had already decided that Wednesday would be the day that we headed North and visited Sarasota for lunch, followed by a film and then on to Costco to top up the freezer.

Soon after we left Rotondo West the skies started getting darker but we arrived and had lunch at the Five Guys Burger joint, if you love Burgers these are pretty much the best we have ever tasted. So filled with burger, fries and iced tea we headed off to the AMC multi cinema in the same zone as Costco which was handy. We had booked to see the film 1917 about two soldiers in the first world war who were charged with the responsibility of notifying another part of the army some very important information and the film is all about the relationship and the very severe challenges faced to do this task.

Having visited the trenches in Northern France some years ago it all felt very real indeed and it certainly made Jennifer and I have a tear at the end of the film. Its also won Sam Mendez the Director an award for Best Film and it really is very good indeed.
Following the film we headed in to Costco to purchase some steaks and lamb chops and a few other bits and pieces and as we left the building the heavens opened and we both got drenched taking out our  shopping to the car. On the way home it continued to really chuck it down almost like the rains you could get in Singapore every afternoon. Quite a few roads were flooded to a few inches however we made it home OK although we did see the result of two rather bad road accidents.
So a quiet evening looking at some of the ‘YES MINISTER’ series on the BRITBOX Channel whilst chewing on some rather nice gulf bay shrimp and a glass of plonk and then an early night was called for.
A  bit more shopping to be done locally tomorrow and then we are set for the next 4/5 days and just ready to relax.

Fire, What fire???

It was a quiet day on the email and house development front and so we decided to have a quiet day just reading and enjoying the fantastic weather. The swimming pool was stuck around 32 Centigrade and just like a warm bath.
Around lunchtime we heard sounds of the emergency services for about 15 minutes and the the noise died away but very soon to be taken over by the sound of one helicopter doing perhaps some training at the nearby small airfield however in the end it seems like two helicopters were doing practising?. We have been aware of this small private airfield for a little while and occasionally there is either a small private jet or small stunt plane doing some practise but not to the extent of today.

From the corner of our swimming pool we can see a little bit down the road through the quite dense trees a couple of fire engines passed by quite slowly and we thought they were just patrolling. Little did we know that just over half a mile away in the same place as us Rotonda West was a huge fire started in the undergrowth in a small area and then developing and effecting over 250 acres.The only reason we knew about this event was when the pool man came this morning and said so what about the fire then? , he looked stunned when we said nothing actually and what fire he was he talking about. Apparently the smoke was so bad a number of local roads were closed due to smoke and they evacuated about 40 houses which were near the fire but the good news is they were able to get it under control with no lost of buildings or life. Electricity supply has been lost to several houses we understand whilst our pool man said that a number of pools have been inundated with dust and ash. With the wend yesterday in a different direction to normal we did no get affected at all. OH well that might have been a little to close.

What with the bad storms back home together with the risk of flooding in Weybridge which eventually turned out to be nothing but very serious in other areas of the country the last thing we needed was being chased out of our rented house.
So another quiet email day with one email from the builder confirming that Jennifer could have the better oven which not only cleans itself but makes the morning tea as well!
Yesterday evening we had a BBQ with some Costco Australian Lamb Chops which are superb and so thick they take about 25 minutes to cook and so together with a glass of plonk we then watched a film on Netflix which quite frankly we did not fully understand and had to put on the subtitles so as to understand what the main characters were saying but perhaps did this a bit late so still a little bit in the dark what it was all about.
Noel has occasionally watched bits of video from the democrats trying to choose there new patron saint, talk about dog eat dog, its a bit like the participants in the Alan Sugar show called ‘Your Fired’ where all the contestants start off by saying how brilliant they are and better than anybody taking part and then totally screw up afterwards.

Oh well its time to watch Chelsea play Bayern Munich, I hope that's its on TV otherwise its back to the pool.

Well so much for a holiday???

Well the last week has been so very busy on the housing front. We have had to make quite a lot of decisions on bathroom tiles, kitchen units, flooring and a number of important things which takes up lots of time. Its even harder to look at colours on a notebook computer as they distort the colour a bit and so we compared the tiles on a mobile phone, then a small Nexus notepad and then again on the notebook computer to try to see what colour we are really getting.

At the moment this work is taking several hours every morning with the odd phone call to cover various matter but the sales lady at the builders has been most helpful even though we may not get all we need in way of appliances etc. So our day consists of getting up at around 07.30 and sometimes earlier then  working our way until nearly lunchtime, only then can we go a take a break as you think of stuff in your dreams or when reading or watching something on Tv and so neither of us sleeping well at the moment.

I thought that by  watching Chelsea play Manchester United would cheer me up and take my mind of houses but the team left their professional capabilities on the team bus although we did have two goals cancelled by VAR with one being most questionable and the other perhaps just a little bit offside.

The weather this week has also been very hot and nice with the temperature hovering around the 28 C mark and the swimming pool at a steady 32 C, just like a warm bath and so a swim and then hang by the side of pool taking in the sun is very nice.

A couple of days ago we received some English visitors who had been looking at the house we are currently in as they wish to rent next year and so we showed them around, not sure if they rented though.We have already booked for Feb and March 2021 in a brand new house which is being built about 100 yards down the road and so we plan to take a peek before we leave here.

We understand that solicitors are targeting 5th March 2020 for Exchange of Contracts and then completion and move dates have to be agreed. We hope they may not be in a hurry to move but if they are it looks like we shall return to the UK early.

I am getting through ink cartridges quite fast and so must order some more but as most people know the cost of cartridges far outweighs the cost of a printer, its scandalous.. If I were US President I would stop it!!!!

Oh well back to the drawing board

FACT, FICTION OR JUST AN OPINION- THE WORLDS NEWS ? ORGANISATIONS ARE A MESS

Its very difficult to tell what is fact, fiction or an opinion  today when you listen/watch to TV News or read the press as often it bears no relation to the truth or even fact. I include in this the BBC who have a number of well known so called commentators who like to give you a report  of what is happing in UK politics without actually knowing the real facts of the matter.
The word ‘COULD’ is used so often today so as to create a story which bears no relationship to the truth. this not only happens in the UK but I suspect most global news organisations and its about time something was done to stop it. For a start the newspaper should have an additional section marked very clearly that this is an opinion of the author and not FACT.  There should also be a section which is actually marked NEWS where specific items can be reported factually viz:- there was a car crash with a number of people injured. Rather than” that on this section of road there COULD be a car crash where several people get hurt”. There is a great deal of overusing the word ‘COULD’ just like the world could come to an end at the millennium? and what happened then just plain old nothing, except for some humorous T-Shirts
I also read with interest the FACT but not a FACT that the recently resigned Chancellor of the Exchequer left over being told to fire his staff, I bet this wasn't the way it happened. Ever since Mr Philip Hammond left the job and being a known Europhile no doubt ensured his advisers? , for the want of a better word, were of the same ilk. So I guess that with Boris trying to stop the known chaos between number 10 and number 11 staff/advisers he felt it made sense to have everybody in the boat rowing in the same direction. This certainly makes sense from a business perspective. And more foolish for Savid for not recognising this.
At the moment we are in the US and watching some of the news politics and they have the same problems here relating to the new round of hustings for a new leader of the Democratic party. It looks like Biden is out and the fact that his son,allegedly  not fiction this, took advantage of his dad’s position as Vice President of the USA in his direct role for Ukraine- the complete matter stinks and makes Boris holiday in Mustique somewhat tame.
Finally, Scotland and the SNP having been in power for 13 years and seen the country go down hill have made continuous efforts to have another independence vote. As mentioned in an earlier post, attack is the best form of defence and so the SNP divert attention from home issues and focus on Independence, Lord help the Scottish people if this ever becomes a reality.
Here endeth the first lesson!!!!!

Perhaps going back to work may be quieter???

Well the last few days have been extremely busy what with filling in all sorts of forms for the Solicitor and also check the work or the various parties as there have been a number of mistakes like showing the property is Leasehold with a share of Freehold,(which is for an apartment block), understating Piplin House  sales price by nearly £ 50 K just to mention just a couple of minor points.
As mentioned last week we purchased a Canon printer/scanner at Best Buy in Port Charlotte and this has turned out to be a brilliant idea as we had no idea how much we would need to print and and scan. On Tuesday the 11th we took a trip down to Fort Myers for a change to visit the Costco store there but primarily to visit a stationary store where we could purchase  a stapler, filing folder and hole punch, Sellotape and paperclips and envelopes and so we are now prepared for most things that the solicitors are sending to us.
We are aware of an exchange of contract date of 5th March but not sure how this will impact upon our holiday timings and an earlier flight home, we shall see.We have to agree with the builders flooring and paint and other factors but awaiting a complete list so that we can understand what we have to agree to, perhaps we can do it all from here or not as the case may be, we shall see.
On Tuesday after a busy day out in Fort Myers we went for an early dinner at the Lighthouse Restaurant and Bar  in Englewood and this is located in a strange place just behind a very cheap and run down housing area but the views and food were really good, Jennifer said the crab cakes were to die for whilst the gulf bay prawns which Noel were also excellent.

Noel has been communicating with some old colleagues in Hong Kong about what is happening from a rioting and virus infection perspective and does not make good ready. Many Chinese factories are closed but hoping to reopen in March which means that many suppliers are behind on delivery and so air cargo will be a mad house in April.
Today we took the hire car for a clean in and out as it was in a disgusting state when received, we have complained to hertz but not sure what good has been done, we shall see.
Having spent the morning on paperwork and shopping its now time to sit by the pool for a brief rest and looking forward to a BBQ of sirloin steak and Pork ribs, sound terrible doesn't it.

29 Cent in the Shade and 32 Cent in the pool- Cannot be bad

Well its been a very busy time for us during the past week what with shopping and overcoming the jetlag but particularly the  unexpected change with regard to our housing situation. The house had been on sale since the beginning of January 2019 with only a limited amount of viewings but suddenly it sprang in to life in mid January this year with as many viewing than the whole of last year.
Well you never can tell who will purchase you house but we were visited by a young couple with parents and spent a lot of time,more than usual which we understand is always a good sign, then a few days later they came back again and this time brought their two young children and very shortly after that we received an offer and negotiations began. Oh we thought , where are we going to live and also we are flying out to Florida in a few days and before we left the couple confirmed the price and we have an agreement subject to contract.
Over the past year we have been visiting areas to find out if they would be suitable for us to live with our requirements of close to shops, train stations etc and we still ended up wanting to live in East Horsley but in the interim period there had been no indication of any suitable housing for us either old bungalows and/or houses with main road frontage and so we backed off. However en-route one day to East Horsley we passed a new development by the well established Octagon Group on a large , ex MOD plot, in West Byfleet which looked interesting but we had not bothered with before. So on the Wednesday before we left on the Friday we paid a visit and liked what we saw and overnight made an offer but unfortunately somebody else beat us to it.-Damn. However we did mention if anything falls through to let us know.
In the meantime the buyers of Piplin House did a full building survey and the house passed well we understand and so now its all with the solicitors for exchange of contracts on 5th March, or thereabouts. So we thought lets wait till we get home before we start looking again and then in the middle of last week we were contacted by Octagon to say another plot was available but after consideration turned it down. Two days after that somebody else pulled out as we presume they could not meet the builders timetable for completion and this is a four bedroom, three story house with all the latest gizmo’s and a utility room and integral garage and its near the shops etc. On site they will also be building additional larger houses and also also apartments and eventually a care home and se would, in theory, as we get older just go smaller and smaller until we end up in a box.
So the matter is with the solicitors and then the paperwork started to arrive requiring lots of work and although we have a notebook computer with us printing and scanning facilities are quite a distance away and also we now the proud owners of a new Canon printer/scanner and had to buy staplers, hole punches and folders for keeping stuff in.
So for the past week Noel spend a couple of hours answering messages and signing and sending documents but the big issue is when the new buyer want to move in as ideally we would like mid April but they may want earlier requiring to return home holiday from a fully paid for holiday. In addition the builder will/has starting pressing us as we need to make choices on colours and perhaps other stuff by the first week in March which also might require a trip home.
OH WELL- its all fun and games

In the middle of all this we are enjoy the nice weather and taking advantage of the warm weather and the temperature of the swimming pool. Be back with soon in the next day or so for an update

A little shopping and swimming

After a swim and  late breakfast we headed of to the Publix Supermarket about then minutes away and did some essential buying of bits and pieces that we needed to run a kitchen and also get some vegetables. We also needed a thermometer to the pool so as to know how warm it is.

We returned to the house in time to meet up with the pool cleaner whom we knew from previous houses we had rented and had a brief chat about current US politics and when I asked his opinion on the impeachment of the President Trump he said if was  all ‘Bulls**t’ and he hopes that TRUMP will win again later this year. We are still a bit tired and so enjoyed a good afternoon nap and then Noel’s turn to cook dinner and so we used up the rest of the Costco chicken and created the famous ‘Splodge’ and it was warm enough to sit outside next to the pool and enjoy our dinner.

Well the next few weeks will see if the house is finally sold and we will have to spend some time planning our list of ‘To Do’s ‘ for when we get back as early indications are that house Legal Completion will be the  second week of March, give or take a week, whilst we are still here in Florida and will look to move out towards the end of April, sounds like fun and then we have to get used to living in a caravan for a while which should not be to difficult.

So as far as this blog is concerned it will not be updated daily but only when something of interest happens as there is no point reporting that we got up, had breakfast, lunch and dinner, watched TV and a c couple of swims and went to bed.

Bi for now

A quiet day of rest

The first thing I did was to check out the car as we had discovered that where there is a cupholder,the  entire base of the unit was sticky and grungy and had messed up the bottom of the plastic water bottles we had put there for our travels. On further investigation we discovered that the vehicle had many marks and damaged door and food particles on the back seat and floor. Wow this is appalling and so Noel wrote off to Hertz to lodge a complaint.

We were of course still tired from our travels and as we don't, for some reason or other, appear to get younger and more used to it we then enjoyed a peaceful day resting by the pool.
We used the time fully unpack our suitcase and look around the house to find out where everything is and of course the most important what cutlery and crockery and cooking equipment we have but in each case there was loads of stuff. This house has three bedrooms, one master, and two smaller ones and the layout is very similar to the first house we rented here some years ago.
In the meantime we had been communicating with our estate agents and also the builders of a new estate being built at West Byfleet that we were interested in as had seen one unit that we liked but I was sold elsewhere whilst we were thinking about it. OK Well lets wait until Piplin is fully sold before looking to hard.
A further afternoon  relaxing and then Noel BBQ’ d up some Costco Australian Lamb Chops and boy were they good!. First though the BBQ grills needed a good clean and as usual at all the houses we have rented the BBQ’s have never been clean to the our standards which are quite high. In this case to top and visible part of the grill tray was OK but as soon as you tuned it over it was covered in muck. How people cook and eat from this beats me.
Anyway an evening of Netflix and then to bed.

Hertz Rental Car problems and bad weather and traffic- not a good start

We had an early breakfast in the Hotel and then the Hotel shuttle bus dropped us off at the arrival part of the terminal where all the Car rental companies are based. There was not a long queue waiting to be served at Hertz but only three staff to arrange booking in but there was problems with two parties as it we had to wait almost 25 minutes to get served. If we had not prepaid for the car I would have gone next door to Alamo.

Finally we got served and they tried the usual tact, Sir with having a car for two months you really need a bigger car, no thanks I said and off we went to the garage across the road where all the hire companies store their vehicles. This garage is so dark its almost impossible to check the outside of the car for damage and for that matter inside you cannot see at all. However we chose a vehicle which had a large boot (trunk in USA) and loaded all our cases and headed off for the exit where they check all your documents and then let you out. Well at this point it all went wrong as they scanned the car several times and could not find it on their system and so could not let us leave. All this took about ten minutes with other car drivers hooting us in frustration and so finally they said we should go back and choose another car which we did. We returned to the bay for mid-size cars only to find there were none left and so we were upgraded to the next level and a bigger vehicle. We then had to move all our luggage over to the new car and we finally left having been trying to collect the car and leave took nearly 1.5  hours and therefore we were behind on our planned schedule.
With the SAT/NAV  positioned ready to go we headed off for our first stop in Sarasota en-route to Rotonda West but the journey was anything but easy with heavy rain and a considerable amount of traffic jams we finally arrived in Sarasota and stopped for a Wendy’s burger for a fast lunch and then on to do our stock up shopping at Costco.

We bought all the usual stuff, steaks, lamb chops and many other goodies and at check-out the cashier asked were we having a ‘Superbowl’ party, needless to say as Brits this is of little interest to us.
From there about another hour to Rotonda West and the nearby Publix supermarket where we purchased a few last minute items before heading off to the rented house where we finally arrived at about 18.00 and nearly 2.5 hours later than planned.
The house is very nice with great views from the back of the house and we tucked in to our Costco ready cooked chicken with salad and a nice glass of chardonnay before heading for an evening of TV watching. Some years ago we purchased a Amazon TV Fire Stick from Amazon USA and by plugging it in to the back of the very large TV we can watch our Netflix and other stuff.
And so to bed.

Florida here we come

Well after a busy few days what with the house being on the market for sale and very strong interest from one party we left the house by Taxi to Gatwick for our flight to Orlando. We were having such a good discussion with the taxi driver insomuch as he forgot where he was going and we ended up Northbound on the A3 instead of Southbound to the M25. That's a good start I thought.
We arrived at Gatwick in good time and were checked in within ten minutes and headed off to the restaurant area where we had a brief lunch and then boarded the Norwegian B787 Dreamliner aircraft with a nine hour flight ahead of us. The flight was not full in Premier Class but did not bother to go back to check on economy however the important part was that it left on time and subsequently arrived in Orlando 20 minutes early.

I was a bit worried that we had not received all the Immigration paperwork including Customs declaration  on board but apparently this has been dropped , well at this airport anyway, and immigration procedure was spectacularly fast and within an hour of touchdown we were waiting for the Hotel transfer bus to meet us even after a short train ride to the main terminal. We were staying in the Homewood Suites just off the Airport which was conveniently for a large choice of restaurant’s but after checking in and dropping our bags we went right to the steakhouse for a beer and a nice late dinner.
According to the weather forecast tomorrow will be wet and windy. Ummm not good.
Now looking forward to a nice long sleep

Time to leave

Well after a heart breakfast we packed the car, the strange thing was that when we packed the car for the second time we had far more space in the trunk than before, most odd, however this was good and we headed following the SATNAV hoping it would take us the right way to Calais. The journey to Calais was uneventful and the weather was still nice and we arrived at about 12.30 in time for our table reservation at the Restaurant Au Cote D’Argent which is right on the shoreside and next to the Port and so you can have dinner and watch the ferries come and go.
The Restaurant specialises in seafood and was not full when we arrived but by 13.15 was fully booked and you could understand why as the food is excellent with great service and with lovely views

https://www.cotedargent.com/
A short while later we boarded on the same ship that we cam on and headed back to Dover and this time the journey back took much longer due road works and so it was almost two hours to get home but we made it home OK and in the evening had a rest and watched the Abu Dhabi F1 race which we had recorded.
And so to bed and it was a really nice couple of days and next year we may visit the ARRAS Christmas fair as the steward on the P & O Ferry had been to Lille, Arras and Bruges and strongly recommended Arras, so will look at that for next time.
Oh well that's it for the moment…

A visit to the Christmas Market

The sun was shining as we awoke and it was a little chill and the weather for the rest of the day was much better than the forecast predicted. Following a nice breakfast and a relaxed time afterwards we caught a cab down the the Central Square to visit the market stalls where you could buy a myriad of items from food to Hot Dogs and Vin Chaude together with Father Christmas Hats. It was really very busy and there was security checking bags on the way in.

We walked around for about 35 minutes but the old legs were suffering so me and my friend found a convenient bar/cafge to sit and wait whilst the ladies went off to have a further look round and perhaps visit a few shops. Whilst the girls visited the ‘Cathedral Notre Dame De La Treille’  the boys sat in the  warm bat enjoying a few glasses of something whilst watching the crowds going by. At one time a group of about eight SWAT type troops came by carry sten guns or similar and so presumably this was to deter any terrorist attack, this might have been set up as there had been an attack in London on the Friday evening. We all enjoyed some food a bit later on, and did I mention, another glass of wine before heading off for a 90 minute coach tour of Lille Town. During this tour we went past several old buildings and fantastic Hotels and also the area surround the main original train station which is next to the much newer TGV and Eurostar building. A taxi driver told us that the placement of the TGV/Eurostar Station helped bring back life to Lille which was dying from people moving to Paris or other locations whwre there was work. Lille is now a very bustling town Lille  and is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region in northern France, near the border with Belgium. A cultural hub and bustling university city today, it was once an important merchant center of French Flanders, and many Flemish influences remain. The historic center, Vieux Lille, is characterized by 17th-century brick town houses, cobbled pedestrian streets and the large central square, Grand Place.

The population of the towns is about 1.1 million and so one of the Largest of the French Towns. The traffic as a result of the market was severe and parking would have been a nightmare if your were planning to drive there and park and look around and were were lucky we had booked the Hotel. with a car park. Following the coach tour we headed back to the Hotel for a quick change and then off to the next restaurant called Le Pubstore Restaurant, which was recommended on Trip Adviser which is run by an Italian who had lived 10 years in Australia and now runs a restaurant in Lille and so his English was very good. The menu was not large but sufficient for our needs and the plate sizes so large that none of us were able to finish what we had been served. The atmosphere for the pub was nice and it soon filled up and so we were glad we had an early sitting. Back to Hotel for one last goodnight drink and then off to bed for an early night, although it wasn't to early.
It was nice day and we took quite a number of photos.

A couple of nights visiting the Lille Christmas Market

With a couple of good friends from Wey Road we left on Friday morning for Lille and crossing the channel with P & O Ferry. Arriving in Lille where we stayed in an old Convent which has been converted in to a Hotel called Alliance Hotel- Couvents au Minimes and its really rather beautiful inside with some strange artworks as well.
see link to Hotel

http://www.alliance-lille.com/en/
The journey down to Dover was amazing as we left Wey Road at about 09.00 and pulled up in to Dover Harbour shortly after 10.35 and it was of the quickest times that I have been able to do this route but just no traffic.  We checked in and after a short wait we boarded the P & O Ferry ‘Spirit of Britain’ and then headed up to the lounge for a sandwich and tea and for the non driving people , glasses of Champagne. The drive from Calais Port to the Hotel took about 90 minutes and it was also good to try and understand the new car navigation system and it did get there OK, which was a bit of luck.

After  a brief rest we met up in the Hotel lobby bar for a few quick ones before dinner and then headed of the the restaurant via an Uber Driver.. The restaurant was called ‘Au Diable Des Plaisirs’ and was very good indeed, see link
https://www.audiabledesplaisirs.fr/
Then back to the Hotel for a couple of good night drinks and then off for a well earned rest.