Talking Point with Vicky Turrell: 'If you are contemplating moving house, then I have some advice – don’t do it’
“Why didn’t my robin come with me?” I had just finished giving a talk to a group of people in town and I asked for any questions. This was the first question. I thought it very strange. The person had moved house and she had thought that her tame robin would move with her! How to answer such a question and not make someone feel silly or put down?
In any case, now we have moved house, I have some understanding. Where are my birds? The robin who sat on my teacup and ate out of my hand is not here. The thrush that sang in the dawn light as I pegged out my washing does not sing here. The blackbirds do not have a white collar here like the ‘vicar’ who had a nest and brought up speckled offspring last year. Of course, they will not come with me, but there is always the memory.
If you are contemplating moving house, then I have some advice – ‘Don’t do it’. It is more complicated and nerve wracking than you think. As an extra burden people seemed to want to tell me disaster stories.
My friend had just got everything in the removal van, and the key in the door to lock it for the last time, when the phone rang. The deal was off, the buyer had pulled out.
My friend in the café ‘sold’ her house and bought an apartment in town and was all settled in. She enjoyed being able to pop into the shops and meet friends for coffee. She was lucky enough to be able to buy her new home and not rely on money from her first house. But she was not lucky last week.
“It’s all fallen through,” she wailed “and they were due to sign this week. Only a week to go and now I have to start all over again.”
Another disaster story came from our window cleaner whose friend lost £8,000 in fees when their new house sale fell through. The disaster stories are endless and I have not even started on the horrors of removal days.
When we moved to the cottage 36 years ago everything was very simple. The house was empty we paid the price and moved within the month. Mind you, it was not simple living there as it was a two up two down cottage and there was a lot of building work to be done to make it more comfortable.
Now we have blown away the dust of time from our earlier life and moved on for our older age. And I see that there is a new robin eyeing me from the hedge.
