Sibling rivalry and moving house

Now you'll have to write some more, Lucy...

Mum and I had given notice to move out of the hovel in Chelsea so had a limited time to search - and move. I got home from 4 months away 11 days before we had to be out so it was all hands on deck.

It still shocks me when looking for studios in London the number of places I come across that I would be too embarassed to make public. Some 'studios' are barely bigger then a single bed and also contain a 'kitchenette' and a shower and loo. And so dirty and smelly...

One place mum and I looked at several months ago is now known to us as 'the place with the dead person in the hallway'. The smell was horrific and we could barely walk in and look at the room before fleeing for fresh air. The room itself was one of the above mentioned single bed size rooms. It had a raised bed with a half height wardrobe and storage underneath. We had to single file into and out of the room as 2 people could not stand in it at the same time.

Oddly enough I went to look at another room in this street this time 'round and it turned out to be the same house but upstairs. The room was identical to the one downstairs.

The good news is that we finally found a place that suited us as much as we could expect given our limited time. The London small flat market requires swift movement - if you like a place it is vital to put a deposit on it immediatly or you miss out. So that is how it was with our new place. I went to see it on Sunday afternoon and had to talk it through with mum on the phone and make a decision as I knew this one would go before the end of the day. We went back to sign up on Tuesday and moved in on Thursday night.

The other difficulty with moving house in London is the challenge of finding an honest and efficient 'man-with-a-van'. The last couple of moves we did I had found a lovely man who worked so well I first phoned him first but he had no free time time that week. So after a search on gumtree.com, I found a man who could fit us in on Thursday night for a good price. He turned out to be brilliant as well, we couldn't have asked for better - except maybe a full size van so we could have done it in one trip... Boy, have we've hoarded some stuff since being in Chelsea - that is what happens when one spends too long in one place!!

Remind us to move sooner this time to keep the clutter down.