Our Vauxhall Corsa failed its MOT test today. Initially the repair bill of well over £300 sounded terminal. However the two "loose" headlights costing £146.28 turn out to be a couple of plastic clips costing 40p, the handbrake cable (£5) with me fitting it, bunging on the spare tyre in place of the dodgy one leaves just the exhaust for the garage to fix. Bolting this lot on will be a welcome relief from tomorrow's funeral. I have the whole day off work, and the bonfire only lasts an hour, so spending the afternoon playing grease monkey sounds like a plan to me. It will ruin my finger nails though.
I went back to see Paul about the guitar. He let me try the Isabel model. That's more like it. It feels much more masculine. It's much heavier which makes for more stability and less squiggling about. The fingerboard is a little wider as is the space between the strings, all of which makes it easier to play. I decide to play the difference and relieve him of if. The total cost is now almost as much as I got for the Commando, less a bottle of the best scotch in the world.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Easy Come, Easy Go
Having successfully offloaded the Norton to an unsuspecting used car salesman (really!) for a reasonable sum of money (although not as much as I'd hoped for), I concluded I ought to squander my ill gotten gains. I've been toying with buying a new guitar for a while, since the old Yamaha I've had since I was 11 really does not cut it, and the Rodriguez I'm currently borrowing has to be returned to its owner. I was recommeded to go and see Paul Gregory of Maestoso Music Co who supplied me with a Loriente Angela, which is proving a culture shock after the Rodriguez, which is a 55mm fingerboard monster. I'm having trouble coping with a mere 52mm, however Paul is going to ask Pablo Requena to make me a nut with wider spacing, which we think will ease the pain.
On the house front, our buyer's surveyor did the business this morning, so things are progressing along. It turns out that we've not had the final building insepction for the loft conversion, which was done in 2006! A**e. Various phone calls have been made to get the wheels in motion so that this can happen and we get the all important certificate of completion. The really annoying bit is that we have to put those F annoying door closers back on all the doors, and refit the downstairs smoke alarm which goes off with little or no provocation.
Other items of note - I passed my grade I piano exam, apparently with distinction - but only just! Also, we asked for our NZ Visas to be issued. Even if the sale of the house falls through, with the M.I.L. popping her clogs, we've got the dosh to take off.
On the house front, our buyer's surveyor did the business this morning, so things are progressing along. It turns out that we've not had the final building insepction for the loft conversion, which was done in 2006! A**e. Various phone calls have been made to get the wheels in motion so that this can happen and we get the all important certificate of completion. The really annoying bit is that we have to put those F annoying door closers back on all the doors, and refit the downstairs smoke alarm which goes off with little or no provocation.
Other items of note - I passed my grade I piano exam, apparently with distinction - but only just! Also, we asked for our NZ Visas to be issued. Even if the sale of the house falls through, with the M.I.L. popping her clogs, we've got the dosh to take off.
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Sold!
Recession? What recession?
Having ummed and ahhed for a week or so and finally decided that we will give selling a go, we picked an agent. We picked the one that had given us the highest value - not that we're falling for that old trick, but because they didn't spend an hour and a half giving us the hard sell. They came and measured up on the Wednesday. We had draft details on the Friday, which we confirmed on the Saturday. The sign went up Saturday lunchtime. We had a call in the afternoon - a couple from London wanting to view. They came. they went. Another call on Saturday - another viewing arranged for Monday.
Monday comes round, and one of the girl's former teachers is at the door. I take a moment to place her but she's come to view the house. She says she likes it. She comes back later that day with hubby and kids. They make the right noises. Tuesday morning we get an offer of 5K short of the asking price. Woo! We accept. She wants to be in as soon as possible, which unfortunately means that we're going to have to rent for 3 months or so, which will cost us loads compared with the cost of the mortgage interest, which currently is less that an evening in the pub.
It's now that some of the panic starts to set it. What am I going to do with the contents of the garage. I've come to the conclusion that I ought to flog the Commando, since I'm never likely to have the patience to nurse it along. A quick scan through the Norton Owner's Club site
reveals several folks wanting 750 Commandoes. I contact one, send some photos (after a quick blast with the Jeffrey Archer) and he's coming to see me tomorrow. All the way from Lincolnshire. There's a certain irony in that, since the Commando originated in Humberside, so it's (hopefully) back home she goes, but south of the river this time.
On a more sombre note, my Mother in Law died on Saturday, not unexpectedly. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's for some time and this in conjunction with poor circulation caused by 60 years of smoking and less than 1/2 of one lung functioning conspired to see her off at only 71 years of age. She's certainly better off now. Her passing does have a significant effect on our financial position, however. We now have no mortgage and enough money for a decent deposit if our sale falls through.
Having ummed and ahhed for a week or so and finally decided that we will give selling a go, we picked an agent. We picked the one that had given us the highest value - not that we're falling for that old trick, but because they didn't spend an hour and a half giving us the hard sell. They came and measured up on the Wednesday. We had draft details on the Friday, which we confirmed on the Saturday. The sign went up Saturday lunchtime. We had a call in the afternoon - a couple from London wanting to view. They came. they went. Another call on Saturday - another viewing arranged for Monday.
Monday comes round, and one of the girl's former teachers is at the door. I take a moment to place her but she's come to view the house. She says she likes it. She comes back later that day with hubby and kids. They make the right noises. Tuesday morning we get an offer of 5K short of the asking price. Woo! We accept. She wants to be in as soon as possible, which unfortunately means that we're going to have to rent for 3 months or so, which will cost us loads compared with the cost of the mortgage interest, which currently is less that an evening in the pub.
It's now that some of the panic starts to set it. What am I going to do with the contents of the garage. I've come to the conclusion that I ought to flog the Commando, since I'm never likely to have the patience to nurse it along. A quick scan through the Norton Owner's Club site
reveals several folks wanting 750 Commandoes. I contact one, send some photos (after a quick blast with the Jeffrey Archer) and he's coming to see me tomorrow. All the way from Lincolnshire. There's a certain irony in that, since the Commando originated in Humberside, so it's (hopefully) back home she goes, but south of the river this time.On a more sombre note, my Mother in Law died on Saturday, not unexpectedly. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's for some time and this in conjunction with poor circulation caused by 60 years of smoking and less than 1/2 of one lung functioning conspired to see her off at only 71 years of age. She's certainly better off now. Her passing does have a significant effect on our financial position, however. We now have no mortgage and enough money for a decent deposit if our sale falls through.
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