I'll start by putting the record straight and pointing out that this is not my photo. It wasn't even taken this year but it is the closest I could find to what we came across as we headed towards Marion's early morning fitness class at Ufford Park today. The memory on my phone was full and when you are stuck in a queue of traffic attempting to reverse and turn around, deleting unwanted photos on the iPhone and stopping to take snaps is not a top priority and unlikely to win you much love from fellow road users. Of course we'd heard all about the storm but we'd both slept well and it wasn't really very windy when we left Framlingham at 8 o'clock so we thought that our area had escaped the worst. After all, we were living near Sevenoaks in Kent in 1987 when virtually every tree within a mile of our house came down; this felt nowhere near as severe.
Following our noses we found our way away from Hacheston where the blockage lay and eventually reached the A12 after a hairy drive through floodwater and around other fallen trees on partially blocked roads. By this time the winds were so strong that the car was shaking and drivers were proceeding very gingerly. But we made it to the gym with time to spare. Sad to say, although Marion's instructor was there, the hotel and spa had been hit by a power cut so the gym was closed and we had to look for an alternative route home. I decided to give very minor roads a miss but still had to turn back on the Glenham road and had some very tight squeezes on the Saxmundham road but got back home safely before ten. On reflection the journey was a bit foolhardy and reckless (we can't say that we weren't warned) but the conditions seemed benign when we left. The intense winds lasted for only a few minutes but they brought down so many trees that their speed must have been immense.
Shortly after we got home a delivery van arrived with this beautiful bouquet of scented roses, stocks and other flowers in an attractive pot. It was a thank you from Dave and Jane who stayed with us last week - what a kind gesture.
Determined not to be thwarted by the wind we logged onto Fitness TV on the Smart TV and did a workout (not before drawing all the blinds to ensure that nobody could see me prancing around the dining room in my shorts). I found it quite hard work (having two left feet doesn't help with the dance like steps) but Marion went on to do a Pilates workout too.
That should help with the diet. We're sicking to TescoDiets meal plan religiously and hope that we get results soon. Since we started on Saturday we've had chicken salad, chicken stir fry, chicken ciabatta rolls and there's more chicken tomorrow. I love a glass or two of prosecco or white wine while relaxing in the bath on a Saturday evening but this week I had to do with slimline tonic - not quite the same. Mind you I didn't fall asleep in front of the telly and that might tell me something.
Don't get me wrong, we love it here in our new home town but we've been in the house for five weeks tomorrow and we've still got an endless stream of workers and delivery people beating their path to the door. We pity the neighbours who have had to put up with over seven months of this now. It would be good if we could see the light at the end of the tunnel but things don't seem to move as quickly as we're used to and I can't see us actually being settled until the end of April.
Marion's having a potting shed built in the garden. It's a really nice little shed designed in the style of a Southwold beach hut. The men from Anson Timberworks started to erect it on Friday and returned on Saturday but then asked if they could come back on Sunday. We didn't think that we should put our neighbours through another day of hammering and sawing so we politely declined - a decision which we now discover means that they can't come back to finish it until Saturday.
Today was the turn of the curtain fitters who came and fitted Roman Blinds in the dining area, hall and two bathrooms, voiles in our bedroom and curtains in the spare bedroom They also fitted curtain track in the kitchen but now have to go back and make the curtains and blinds for that area so that's another visit next week. We've got Orwells coming on Wednesday to fit the splash back which will mean that the kitchen will finally be finished after starting on 8 December (not quite there are still those curtains I just mentioned).
On Thursday we've got a dressing table and bedside cabinets coming for the spare bedroom.
Meanwhile landscape gardener Tony continues to slog away in the garden. He reckons that we'll see good progress next week after weeks of groundwork. The decking is coming on Friday and paths should be in place later this week. We've still got two fences, the whole of the front garden and resurfacing of the drive to be done in March and then, when all that is done, the garden has to be planted and the exterior of the house has to be decorated.
We did lots of work on our last house and had the similar experience of dust, noise and a house full of workers but in those days we had the luxury of going to work and leaving them to it. Now, retired and not wanting to be at home, we find ourselves escaping by making regular trips to The Dancing Goat, The Crown, The Station and the gym at Ufford Park to keep ourselves out of the chaos.
The new garden office was scheduled to arrive today - it didn't.
On a positive note, we're finally getting the hang of the wood burning stove.
I feel really sorry for Tony the landscape gardener. It's as if he's playing a game of snakes and ladders. The weather stops him from coming for almost a week and then it thaws and he gets a good five or six days of work under his belt and then we wake up today to this. It may look lovely but it's certainly delaying our progress and I can see the whole refurbishment stretching to almost nine months by the time we finish.
I was only thinking how well Tony was doing on Friday when I took these photos. You can't knock him for effort. He's arrived today and is cracking on despite the layer of snow.
We fancied a trip to the pictures yesterday and hoped to go to the Riverside in Woodbridge or the cinema in Aldeburgh but we'd seen the films that they were showing so we headed to Cineworld in Ipswich to watch "Flight". I messed up with the times and thought that the film started at 2.40. We got there punctually but discovered it was a 2.20 screening. Marion said it wasn't worth bothering but we went in to find the trailers still running. It makes you realise just how long the pre-film advertising runs for. Denzel Washington was excellent as the alcoholic pilot and the film is an entertaining couple of hours diversion although it slows down considerably after the opening in fight scenes.
Before the film we headed to Ufford and joined the gym. It's nicely equipped, very friendly and not very posh so we should fit in okay. We're going to give it a try this morning if the roads are not too icy.
If you are in our address book you will have hopefully received our change of address card a day or two ago. We used Moonpig.com to send ourselves up and I must thank Mark Palmer of Mark Palmer Photography here in Framlingham who entered into the spirit of things and announced himself as a paparazzo upon arrival. He took a lot of shots and we were absolutely delighted with the results. If we can ever get all the family together here in Framlingham a visit to Mark's studio will be a must.
