Fire and Tedium

After a boring 2-hour journey around the M25 (miles of roadworks and a 50mph speed limit most of the way), I arrived in Chesham at 11.30am and within half an hour was working on an up-to-date fire safety risk assessment for the communal area of the flats with Chris from our residents’ management company. He’s in his mid-80’s and I felt awful for bothering him, but we went over the checklist and I then set to work typing up our notes and printing the finished article. It’s taken me all afternoon, but it’s done. I’ve emailed it to our company secretary Geoff, who’s speeding towards Norway as I write this. I also sent him a scan of my TUC certificate showing that I had successfully completed their Health & Safety Rep’s training course and am therefore experienced in this sort of thing. Let’s just hope he thinks the assessment is suitable and sends it off post-haste to my solicitor. If all goes to plan, I’m hoping contracts will finally be exchanged towards the end of this coming week. If/when it happens it will be a massive relief, and the longed-for beginning of the end of 18 months of tedious but stressful legal and property market wrangling following Mum’s death. As Mum and Dad said on moving into the bungalow 20 years ago - they’ll have to carry me out of there in a box.