Moving on

My north Northumbrian cousins are leaving their large family house near the Scottish border on 15th August. Ultimately they will be living in a brand new house in Kelso, but this is not yet ready for them. In the interim they will stay in a smaller rental property. The joke in all this is that they are actually moving south to Scotland.

Today Mr hazelh and I paid a farewell visit to the old house, as blipped. It's a lovely building, but too big for Nick and Jenny now that their children have grown up. They believe that now is the right time to 'downsize', and we agree with them.

They have sold the house to a couple looking for a 'project'. The new owners will not be disappointed with the scale of work that awaits them. In the meantime, it's a race against time as the family sorts out four generations' worth of belongings: of Nick and Jenny; of their three children; of my aunt and uncle (who owned the house before Nick and Jenny inherited it); of my grandmother (who lived in a cottage nearby until her death in 1994).

We travelled to the house by train and bike. I am quite proud of my cycling achievement today because the 31 miles that we covered up and down the hills from Berwick to the house and back is the furthest that I have cycled on a solo bike in about 15 years.

One of the reasons for making the trip was to look at some family furniture and make a claim, should we like any of it. As things turned out, the dressing table, chest of drawers, and wardrobe that I thought would match the Victorian cheval mirror that I inherited from my grandmother several years ago are from a different set of furniture. Who could have the missing pieces? I also wonder if another family member is curious as to the whereabouts of the mirror that currently resides in my bedroom!

Exercise today: 33 miles of cycling.