Free to roam

Public wireless? Sounds good to me.
http://www.ida.gov.sg/Programmes/20061027174147.aspx?getPagetype=36

Golf in Singapore - Golf Clubs & Country Clubs Listing

Golf in Singapore - Golf Clubs & Country Clubs Listing

Party, party......

A very nice Saturday night had by all (as far as I'm aware). It started quietly which suited us fine as it enabled us to sit back, relax and have a glass of champers. Then everyone arrived quite rapidly it seemed to me. Great to see everyone at the pub to see us off. Even if they were just making sure we are actually leaving. It was a pleasure to see old and new friends alike. The staff at the pub treated us very well and we got through our share of booze. Some more than others as my wife will testify to! She didn't feel too great this morning (or this afternoon come to that!). No tears from anyone which was quite a surprise although to be honest T went round organising to meet everyone again before go. I don't think she quite had the right grasp of timescale given that in a weeks time we will be down in Dorset visiting the in-laws for a week, then back up to stay with my parents for the remaining few days (phew, that sounds a little scary actually).
Another success in selling today as our second car went down the road with a new owner in it (must remember to send of the V5 to the DVLA). As deals go it couldn't have been easier, the 'buyer' turned up on Friday for a test drive and made me an offer then and there. Perfect, even managed to push him up another £50. Money was in the bank by the close of play that night and he picked up today. Brilliant and not a moment too soon considering we'd had no other interest and the Auto Trader advert ran out last Thursday!! The only down side is it means I don't get to play golf on Wednesday now due to lack of transport. Boo, but on the other, the money is in the bank. And I think they play a bit of golf in Singapore!

30 days

That's all that's left until we disappear to Singapore. How crazy is that? We have our 'leaving' party on Saturday. Looks like there should be a few people turning up which is good news. We weren't sure many were going to make it at first! Even thought about cancelling it at one point!
The other good news is that our shipping came in lighter than expected so we're due a refund. Every little helps. Hey, that could be a catch phrase for a grocery company.

Hooray!

Great weekend for selling that was! We got rid of the sofa, armchairs and dining room table and chairs for the price we wanted. And we've just got rid of one of our bed frames and various other stuff on Freecycle to a couple of girls moving into their first flat. The wonders of t'internet. Just discovered we've also got a £50 cheque coming our way for a recommending a company to my parents. It's all coming up roses, as they say....

The came, they packed, they left.

Hurray, the relocation company turned up today! I must once they were here they were very efficient. D took exception to them packing his toys up, which is understandable but even he was chatting to them the whole way through. He did cry a bit when he finally had to say goodbye though which made me feel bad for him. Z on the other hand couldn't have cared less, she sat on her high chair watching the world go by, but mainly CBeebies!. Took them about two hours in the end, which wasn't bad (although we hadn't got that much to be shipped). The most surprising thing was watching them put our double mattress in an over sized brown paper bag (see below behind Z)! Quite a strange feeling seeing your belongings in the back of a 7.5 tonne lorry and knowing the next time you see them will be roughly 6,741 miles away in five weeks time (I have been doing a bit of research). Gawd knows what was gong through Dan's head! Not much else to say on the subject other than you can guarantee over the next few weeks we're bound to find something we wished we'd shipped.
Another good thing that arrived today was confirmation from our mortgage lenders of permission to let. Phew, that would have been tricky if they hadn't granted that one! Can't say it had even crossed my mind that they wouldn't but I suppose if you've got to ask there's always the possibility they'll say no!

No Relo.....

Grrrr! So the relo company didn't make it today. Poor. Supposed to be with me between 1pm and 3pm. Got a call at 230pm saying they were aiming to be with me by 430-5pm. I called them at 5 to find out it was going to be more like 6-30pm. No chance! Got to go out at 7. All the worse for the fact that we'd had the kids out of the way all day and I'd turned down a days work. Not a happy camper.
So tomorrow they are due between 830-10am. We're their first pick-up, which kind of begs the question, why is there a time slot of an hour-and-a-half? Just got to stop the kids crying when all their toys and books disappear out the door. Could be fun!
Anyway, nice evening out with friends and bedtime now. Worry about it all in the morning.

"Hello, my name's Nick!"

"I am your friendly gas man and here is my ID. I'm going to give you your Landlord's certificate."

He looked very proud of his ID badge. Fingers crossed we get the certificate out of him today. We'll find out in about two hours. There's already a bit of sawing going on in the bathroom where the boiler is. Don't know how encouraging that is, but I'm sure I'll find out soon enough!

We now have a long piece of copper piping pointing down our outside wall. It's connected to the pressure outlet valve apparently and it points down the wall so that people won't be sprayed by boiling water when they're sitting on the roof terrace (yes, a roof terrace, not decking). Which I guess would be preferable to a quick poaching whilst trying to enjoy a glass of wine.

So far, so good with the boiler he says. It's passed it's emissions test which is the main thing. I'm happy already. I felt sure the old boiler (it's at least fifteen years old) would have a real issue trying to pump out those nasty gases but , no, apparently not.

Gas fire and hob next. Goodness knows how old that fire is but shouldn't be a problem.....

No problem at all and we've passed with flying colours. Our Landlord's Certificate will be in in the post! Hurrah for British Gas (I've never said that before)!

The day before.....

..... shipping day.
T has the day off and we're making the most of being able to pack and get ready for our belongings to be shipped to Singapore tomorrow (sans kids). Madness I tells ya! We seem to have done OK as me being able to Blog would testify to. It really doesn't seem that much when it comes down to it although there's still a shed load (or two) to get rid of before we disappear. I'm sure once the shipping has gone it will soon become apparent what stays and what goes.... let's hope so!
They're turning up between 1-3pm tomorrow so it still gives me the morning to worry about whether we've got everything we need. Listen to me, it sounds like we're going to live in Outer Mongolia or something (which is very nice apparently but not over-endowed with convenience stores I believe). We are in fact off to Singapore which, quite probably, has one of the highest proportion of shops per head in the world! I don't think we're likely to suffer from lack of choice somehow, just lack of money (but no lack of will to consume!).
Rather well timed is the fact that arriving between 8am-1pm is the Gas engineer to (hopefully), test our appliances and present us with our Landlords certificate. If he finds something wrong (and the boiler is pretty old, mind), then more money will be thrown at another problem and get resolved I'm sure.
So that means I'm stuck in the house between about 8am and 5pm.
Lummox!