New neighbours

My semi-detached neighbours’ house has been vacant for the last year and a half. It was let out for a while while Susan was in a nursing home and went on the market after her death. The sale process has been fraught. It went sale-agreed for a while, but various delays resulted in the buyer walking away. Again it went sale-agreed and again there were delays. Finally, about three weeks ago I heard that ‘the signing’ was happening and then last week the news was that ‘closing’ would happen today. Carl and I were working in the front garden this afternoon (weeding, chopping, dead-heading) when a car pulled up outside and a young couple walked along the pathway with the keys and let themselves into what is now their their new home. I chatted with them over the fence, introduced myself and invited them in for a drink as soon as they're settled in.

So I have more new neighbours. New people moved in to the house on my other side last year. They’re separated from me by a shared driveway. This time is different, since today’s newcomers and I are semi-detached. It’s all change. The original neighbours on both sides moved in at the same time as I did with my parents, way back in the early ‘60s when the houses were built. I watched the kids on either side being born and growing up, my dad was god-father to one of them, and next-door-neighbour Susan especially became a very dear personal friend. Lots of history … and now, a new chapter. All change.

* I've done some back-blipping, starting here.