This week, the last episode of the tale of my last trip south. On my last day at the family home, the broadband was finally installed. It’s been a long process, starting last August, when the order was placed. The trunk cable had been laid along the lane years ago.
The next step was for the internet provider to extend the cable over the canal to the house. That was supposed to occur at the end of September, but a network problem caused a further delay of 3-6 weeks. By mid-November, there was another delay when they needed to apply for temporary traffic lights to extend the cable. Trudge forward to the end of January, and the work has been done, but broadband can’t be installed until I’m next down in March; someone must be at the property. Accordingly, I made an appointment for March.
At last, rain
On 20 March, a team visits to see what is required to get the cable to the house. Unfortunately, bushes or trees need to be pruned, as they the route of the cable. They’ll hire a specialist tree surgeon to do it. In April I made another appointment for installation in May. A week before, the team visits again and brings the cable over the canal. A week later, the installer arrives. He needs to get to the base of the house wall – did they not tell you those bushes need to be trimmed? A search through sheds provides me with usable tools and in a few minutes there’s a space. At last, he can install the broadband. Of course, it doesn’t work right away. The installer says it occasionally happens. An hour or so later, it finally works, and I have a whole two hours to use it, but no time to do so because I’m packing the car to leave the house for probably the last time. My thought was to have it available for my visits to the house, and that it would be a plus point when the house is sold. Now it’s just a plus point.
First iris of the year
The next stop on the trip was Southport to visit another old friend of ours for a few days. We had a day in Liverpool, seeing the sights, visiting fabric, window shopping in John Lewis. In the evening, we had dinner at a very nice restaurant in Southport. It was a lovely visit.
Colin and Gordon as boys in New Zealand
The final stop was Edinburgh, where I again stayed with my friend. One of the highlights of that visit was seeing the white smoke drifting out of the Sistine Chapel chimney soon after I arrived, heralding a new Pope. The other highlight was taking some items from the house to two of Colin’s cousins in Scone. Their father was Colin & Gordon’s uncle. An amateur painter, he gave three paintings to the Reids. There was also a cake stand which I was once told was made by Grandfather Reid. The uncle’s daughters were pleased to be remembered and were pleased to have the paintings and other items.
Alchemilla mollis
Finally, after another night in Edinburgh, I headed home. It was a full, busy trip and I saw new and old friends, and got done what needed to get done. So, a successful trip too. Driving up and down the country like a yo-yo is made much more pleasant when there are friends to visit.
With the gansey, I’m still slogging along. The front is now separate from the back and is looking fine. I’m getting into the rhythm of it now. The extended gussets look decidedly odd, however. I may sew them together, so they look more like ‘proper’ gussets. Or it’s also possible that when the front is done I’ll frog the lot in disgust. Sometimes it’s best to start over.
Leave a Reply