New Year - To Resolve or not to Resolve. That is the Question.

Some years I do, some I don't. This year is like no other & to be honest there doesn't seem much point in making resolutions. We can't control so much of what is going on & the usual ones don't really fit with our situation - Out of the EU with a cobbled together Deal, which means very little. In an even worse situation with Covid 19 than last year.

But - must try to be positive! I will:-

• Try very hard not to buy anything wrapped in plastic.
• Make sure I recycle properly. (Exactly which plastic is & which isn't?)
• Buy as little new clothing as possible & avoid cheap brands who are dependent on cheap labour.
• Recycle as much as possible to charity shops.
• Lobby hard on Climate Change issues.

• Find an exercise routine I will actually stick to now I can't swim.
• Cook from scratch more & eat less cook chill food, (which isn't as nice anyway).

• Not travel abroad. When I can go on holiday, there is plenty of the UK which is beautiful & interesting I haven't been to. A holiday is a luxury. A holiday abroad is not justifiable.
  

• Find something useful & interesting to do to replace the volunteering with the public which stopped 8 months ago. I'm Zoomed & Webinared out - interesting & informative though they all were.
  

There must be more, but if there are too many I won't be able to remember them! 

I do think that we all need to think seriously about what changes we each should make in our lives in the light of the complete mess the world is in. We each have a responsibility to fact check the information we are getting & make sure our decisions are based on real facts, not some crackpot "fake news" conspiracy theory.

We do have power collectively. We must use it now. There isn't much time left. We have to stop depleting the worlds resources & destroying habitats & species. The population of Easter Island died out completely partly because they chopped down all of the trees - complete deforestation. Then they realised that they couldn't leave & find somewhere else to destroy because they were too isolated in the middle of the Pacific.

I believe we can do it. We can turn round our selfish & thoughtless behaviour. We are intelligent, innovative & clever. We just have to decide what is really important & do it.

 

Simples!

Christmas is a coming.... So is the Pestilence.

I've made the red cabbage & the chocolate chestnut mousse. I've sent ecards & wrapped the presents. I've had Christmas phone calls with friends. I even went for a pre Christmas lunch with friends under a portable gazebo with walls today. We had two sides open so that the air could blow through. Who would have thought we would ever eat a Christmas meal outside, in the pouring rain, wearing jumpers & coats? But we did & it was lovely.

It was good to bear in mind how lucky we are. Financially secure, home owners, in a nice location, with friends & family who care for us. We definitely have more than just the basic necessities of life. I walked home through Summertown past two rough sleepers in shop doorways. Their bedding & cardboard was sodden. Why? Why is it still happening? Why are politicians & NGO's unable to solve it? Why do we tolerate it?

This morning I had to go into M&S to get a couple of food items. It was heaving. Trolleys were full to overflowing. Not sure whether that was the normal Christmas over consumption, or people getting prepared for a possible lockdown after Christmas. (Which has now proved to be true). Whatever. It's the contrast that gets me, between the "have to muchies" & the "have nothings". 

This is a unique Christmas. Nothing like it has happened in my lifetime. (Although I do remember the 3 day week, the lights going out & civil unrest). What I'm about to say will annoy. So stop reading if you are sensitive. 

Frankly I'm fed up with the whingeing. Jews have had Hanukkah, Muslims have had Eid, Hindus have had Divali. I didn't hear them moaning about having their celebrations ruined by Covid. Family is as important to them as it is to us - arguably more important to many. Christmas is 2 or 3 days. Surely we can cope? Especially as it strikes me as hypocritical in the extreme considering the percentage of people who go to church regularly. 

In England, membership is forecast to decline to 2.53 million (4.3% of the population) by 2025 according to FaithSurvey.

Covid is a unique event. Yes other countries have dealt with it better. The USA has been worse. Many countries have lied. What's the point of blame? Blame stops you from learning. Would you want to be a politician or a scientist currently? Would you do any better? How? Do you want to change places with NHS workers or Carers? Would you face disgruntled, self centred, shoppers not wearing masks & stripping shelves? 

No. Of course you wouldn't.

We are in this situation. No one deserves it. We have to cope. We have to be unselfish & think of others.

Some people need to get a grip. Others are being heroes.

Not Moving House - Yet!

It will be 11 weeks tomorrow since I instructed my solicitor to act for me in the sale of my present house & the purchase of my new one. I was able to give him all the documentation immediately because I had it stored in a fireproof box at home. The house I am buying is new, but leasehold. My freehold house was completed in 2008. So both are on the Land Registry & should be straight forward. It should be possible to exchange in 6 weeks.

Previously I have used specialist on line Conveyancing only companies. This time it is a "proper" Solicitor. Previously I have been able to track progress, or lack of it, on line. For example there is an online portal called Veyo, but there are dozens of Conveyancing companies using similar tools. You don't have to keep chasing. You know what has been done & what they are waiting for & they know you know.

This time things haven't worked well. There are several reasons. Covid & Brexit don't help of course. Both have caused uncertainty in all markets. There was a flurry of activitiy in the housing market after  the relaxation of the first Lockdown because of pent up demand. Those people want to move in before Christmas. Then there is the Stamp Duty pause until March 2021. People don't want to miss out on that.

I accept all of that - Completely out of my control.

However, I didn't get the lease document from the sellers untill the evening of the 27th November - Almost 9 weeks into the process. (Apparently my solicitor had it for a month before that). That document, it transpired, is an old, generic, document which is used for any properties sold by the company, who have 60 top end retirement estates in the south of England. Goodness knows how many individual properties. Their first property was in near Salisbury in 1977. I get the distict impression that not much has changed in the document since then! It is written in completely impenetrable, unpunctuated, legalese!

Call me strange, but I expect to be able to read & understand a document I sign. The Plain English Campaign agree with me & give a Crystal Mark as a seal of excellence. 

http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/

In the past two weeks I have spent hours, no exaggeration, trying to understand & get answers to queries that arose from the lease document. It simply isn't relevant to my property in places. Some of the clauses are ridiculous - I should have my inside windows cleaned every 4 weeks & get agreement if I want to decorate the inside of my home! Really?

I have been the "fish paste in the sandwich" between my Agent, my Solicitor and a really competent & helpful person who works for the estate I am supposed to be buying into. Speedy & effective communication is really important in conveyancing. I think the solicitors are just overwhelmed with the sheer volume of deals they are working on currently. Those who shout loudest stay at the top of the pile. I don't work that way. I just expect competence, professionalism & efficiency. After all I'm paying quite a bit for it.

Now, if I don't exchange by 12.00 tomorrow I lose my removal slot. I'm not going to make it, because according to my solicitor he has been waiting since the 1st December for the answers to quite a few queries. I've no idea what they are or why they haven't been answered.

I'm more than a bit pissed off - At both sides of the equation. My buyer is ready to exchange. Goodness knows how long he will remain patient.