This red and noisy land

According to a report in the Home section of yesterday's Sunday Times the area of north west Cheshire where we live is one of the least tranquil areas in England. It is coloured fluorescent red whereas where we lived in Surrey is pale green. So, so much for the peaceful countryside. I didn't really need the Sunday Times to do a report on the issue . I could have told them if they had asked me. We live four miles outside Chester in a village which is essentially a farming community and we live between two farms. One farm is a dairy farm which is usually quiet but it can be noisy. The second farm is a battery chicken farm from which we get a constant hum of the machinery maintaining the temperature in the chicken sheds. Then not far from here are the A540 and A5117 roads which are currently undergoing major roadworks. Normally we can hear the hum of the traffic in the background and now we also have the whine of the roadwork machines. And not a day goes by without the piercing screech of sirens of police cars or ambulances. Our first house in Leatherhead was on a main road, near the railway station and not far from the M25. Our second house was in a quiet and attractive village between Leatherhead and Guildford. Both locations were quieter than this cottage in Cheshire. From the noise point of view our quality of life was better in Surrey - the green and pleasant land.

Beginning of the end

Wet weather dictated jobs in the house today so at last we managed to put back our bedroom, which means that we moved our bed back from the third bedroom and borrowed the curtains from that room as the windows are about the same size. The bed clothes that go with the room are still packed away in a suitcase in the loft. My husband could not be bothered to go up into the loft to get them - next weekend perhaps! I need to order some new curtains for this room. Up till now we have had two odd pairs of curtains at the two windows in our bedroom as our previous house only had one window in most rooms. Having a king size bed in the third bedroom which, at best, is a small double bedroom was a bit tight spacewise. Now that room needs a good clean even though it was only decorated last Autumn. And I just need to sort out our clothes which are currently spread around all three bedrooms and the study. Then there is the dressing table to sort out. Moving the bed back was just the beginning. When we moved out of our bedroom to start decorating it took me a whole week to find alternative homes for everything. This is just the beginning of the end.

Sold a bargain

Today is a landmark day for us. Today is the day that we sold our first item on e bay. Or rather my husband did, but it was my idea. I thought at least we could give it a try. People seem to sell all sorts of junk on e bay so why shouldn't we? After several attempts we managed to sell the old fitted bedroom to someone who obviously wanted it and they did have to come and collect it. To take it out of the bedroom it had to be taken to pieces so most of it was flat packed, with no assembly instructions, and very dusty having spent quite a time in the corner of our garage. Whether or not they have bought a bargain I do not know, but if they can put it together they deserve to have bought a bargain and we have regained a corner of our garage.

Retail therapy

We both needed to do a bit of clothes shopping so I pursuaded my husband that a morning at the local designer outlet, where everything is supposed to be at least half price, would be a good idea. It's only about five miles away and in the week it's fairly quiet and parking is not a problem. As we walked from the car park towards the shops the area that we were aiming for was cordoned off by police. My husband inquired what the problem was and was told that there had been a robbery from the jewellery shop. Like a little boy, he wanted to stand and watch but I dragged him away to the M&S outlet shop where he soon forgot about the robbery even though he hates shopping. My husband has a habit of buying things in the wrong size or colour, so to prevent a lot of mistakes I have got into the habit of supervising his clothes shopping. His purchases sorted out I left him to his own devices while I did some shopping for myself.

One morning of shopping was enough for my husband and this afternoon he stayed at home while I checked out the nearby Matalan and Dunelm Mill. Both cheap and cheerful shops that we did not have down in Surrey. I didn't find anything that I wanted to buy in either shop. All a bit too cheap and cheerful. Like anyone I love a bargain but I also want quality which you sometimes get at the designer outlet, even though it may be a second or last seasons model. I am not quite sure what to make of these low cost shops that do not exist in the south of England. Perhaps they think that southerners have too much money to want or need to buy cheap things and it is only the poor northerners who have no choice but to buy their wares. Even though I was born in Yorkshire I think of myself as a southerner, because I have lived most of my adult life in the south of England. I think that I will have to live up here a bit longer before I adapt to these northern shopping traits.