Author: peterb51

21st October 2019

Today I visited a place that stimulated my creativity. I firmly believe I was a tree in another life, because faced with an establishment that is filled with timbers from everywhere in the world. My knees were weak, my palms were moist, this was my Mecca.

Yandles, near Martock was the church of wood, a carpenter’s dream.

Colin wanted timber for some blocks to raise a dresser off the ground. Whilst he was doing that, I wandered through the different rooms looking through racks and racks of planed planks. The most unusual was Purple Heart wood from South America, it colour, as its name describes, was amazing.

I know that if I worked in a place like that I would begrudge anyone trying to buy anything from that place. I would have a project list as long as my arm, and be happy as a pig in shit.

I just wish I could find a similar place in Holland.

20th October 2019

Nicola had booked a table at the Flintlock Inn in the village of March, just over the Devon boarder. It’s not so much a village, more a hill with houses both sides. We had visited the place before, and Colin had alway talked about their fantastic fish cakes.

As we read the menus, his eyes lit up, he saw his fantasy meal. This was duly ordered.

He could hardly contain his excitement as the waitress placed his meal on the table. His first action was to squeeze the slice of lemon over the fish cakes. Unfortunately it slipped out of his fingers, flew into the air, did a double somersault, bounced on his shirt on the way down, and hit the floor with a splat.

Now he was more concerned about the mark on his clothing. Dabbing at it with a napkin he finally gave up and tucked in to his starter.

Nicola was used to his clumsiness, but the subdued laughter was difficult to contain.

He finished his meal with a triumphant smile, and the innocence that he had provided the entertainment for the rest of us.

I was interested in how the guests had got on in the cottage, so I messaged Louise. She replied that everything had gone well, but she had also picked up another booking for Tuesday to Thursday. I was due back on Monday, but now I had to rethink my plans.

This latest booking meant that the cottage was now booked right up to next Sunday, leaving me a week till I flew back to the US.

19th October 2019

It was a beautiful morning in Barrington, the sky was clear and the air sharp.

This was a good time for a long walk into the countryside.

Afterwards I started to clean the back of the truck out, removing all traces of the garden waste debris left from my last visit to the dump.

I really went overboard with the cleaning by applying stuff to all the plastics and cream to the leather seats.

There is a smell that is evident with new cars that slowly disappears as the vehicle gets older. The smell in the shogun was always distinctive, Damian always said it smelt of my friend Martin’s dogs. Although I got used to it, I have often tried to neutralise the odour.

I guess the only real way of getting rid of the smell would be to set the thing on fire.

Kelli has been frantically organising a party for when I return. This was the long awaited first anniversary/house warming/ Pete’s return extravaganza. I said it seemed like a fun idea, and that was enough, off she went in top gear.

The invites went out on Facebook and the catering shortlisted, there is no stopping this girl once she is on a mission.

Bristol Cottage business has continued to be slow, with a little more success on Marketplace, but with so much attention being focused on the visa issue, we have taken our eyes off furniture renovation. However Kelli has been delivering flowers for a friend to supplement her income.

I hope one I get back I can put new impetus back into the business.

18th October 2019

The last minute cleaning frenzy continued.

The scrubbing of the bathroom was the last area of the house that needed attention.

The hardest part was vacuuming the bath mat. Little bits of wood shavings were lodged in the fibres and resisted even the greatest of suck from the Dyson. I ended up picking each one individually from the rug until I deemed it acceptable.

I locked the front door and walked down the path and on down to the car.

I had a dental appointment because I was having some discomfort to one of my back teeth, and wanted to get it checked.

The tooth had been damaged on my last trip to the US, and when I got back I had it looked at, although there was nothing that could be done with it, I was prepared to live with it.

I sat in the chair, and it was reckoned raising my legs high in the air. My dentist was poking around, and all I could think of was if I had trimmed my nose hair sufficiently.

The net result was that I needed the damaged tooth removed because there was a wisdom tooth trying to push through, hence the discomfort I was getting.

So three days before I fly back to the US I have to go through that, hopefully I won’t look like a hamster.

17th October 2019

Another great night, I woke up refreshed, and ready to start cleaning the house ready for our guests this weekend.

First I had arranged breakfast with Louise at the Lock Inn to discuss the Airbnb business.

The bookings were coming in filling up most weekends up to Christmas, but not the weekdays. We agreed to advertise these at a lower rate to see if that made a difference.

Cleaning the place doesn’t take long because it is so small, so with the music playing I scrubbed the place from top to bottom.

The whole process is very therapeutic and enjoyable, a long way from my approach in the past, where it was a huge chore.

I guess when you open yourself up to paying guests the appearance is important, and although it is still work in progress, I want to make a good impression.

Cleaning the glass table and windows took forever, even though I was using the proper stuff and a good cloth. I could not get it smear free. I cleaned the table twice, and even when I thought it was perfect, when the sun shone on it there they were again. In the end I used the wiper blade that I clean the shower screen with, that did the job.

Nicola and Colin stopped in to add more plants to the garden. I am amazed how wonderful the plants look, and how they have transformed the front space.

16th October 2019

God that was a great sleep, the best undisturbed night for weeks.

When I remembered back to yesterday, the relief I felt was only matched by the number of positive posts and emails I received.

I didn’t care that I had beaten the odds, I still had my plane ticket and I was ready to get back home to Central Bay Avenue, and be with Kelli again.

My friend Dave was due over, he was probably the only one I hadn’t told the news to.

He message me to say he would be 15 minutes late, and a waited a while to respond.

As he walked up the path I greeted him with my shoulders dropped, and an unsmiling face. He took that to be a bad sign, and started to commiserate, I rolled with his words and added “the bastards…………they let me in!” The realisation hit him and we had a man hug.

He was delighted, so I told him the story that despite knowing him, they approved me anyway. We continue to trade insults and jokes for the rest of the day.

15th October 2019

The drive was familiar, the same rush hour traffic hold-ups, the same ominous sunrise, this day was beginning.

I climbed the stairs from Vauxhall tube station, the queues at the bus stops snaked around.

The ten minute walk past the endless construction sites building vast steel and concrete skeletons were irrelevant to me.

The American Embassy shone like a beacon of gloom. It’s blandness feebly enhanced by sail like features, that will get grubby, and end up as a giant death shroud symbolising what the building really is.

The queue outside was small compared with last time, so progress through security was faster, but the long queue started inside the compound.

The sky was blue, the clouds seemed to sail around a no-fly zone, it’s funny what you notice when you are waiting.

Eventually I got my number, V123, I should remember that. I walked to the lift, I knew the way up to the first floor.

I then sat waiting, watching the numbers on the screen.

When my number was called, I was ushered to a privacy room, mmm this is different.

There was a pleasant English girl behind the screen, she didn’t have the usual demeanour of most Consular Officer that come with a stick up their ass, no, she made me feel welcome.

She went through the process taking the fingerprints and attaching my photograph to the forms, but instead of handing them back to me she said that my folder would follow me down, mmm this is really different.

I waited at the other area for my interview.

I waited and waited as the room emptied, I expected them to hand me a broom to sweep the place.

I guess the “V” numbers had some significance, as there seemed to be very few issued.

My number appeared on the screen, the choirs sang. I expected the screen to show “And finally V123”

I was summoned to another privacy room only to be told that someone else would deal with me, mmmm this is definitely different.

I walked to window 10, behind the screen was a middle aged woman furiously tapping the keyboard, boy, she must get through lots of them.

What followed were the oddest few minutes I have ever encountered at the Embassy before.

There was no bluntness, no trick questions, she just pounding the keys continuously as if play a game, she finally stopped, looked again at the screen, made a odd movement with her lips, turned to me and stamped my application “Visa approved”

Should I plant a big kiss on the glass, or punch the air? Instead I gave a subdued “Thank you” and walked away as if nothing special had happed.

The air outside smelt sweet, I tried to call Kelli.

She did not answer, but called me back soon after.

“ Hi Girl” I said in a somber tone, “ Well I did my best” leaving a short pause. I could tell a despondent sigh from her, “but they approved me anyway”

What happened next would live on in my memory for ever. There was a silence, then a high pitched scream, then a mixture of laughing and crying, something that she does often, but not to this extent, it just kept going, I was worried she would run out of breath and collapse on the floor, I guess she was pleased with the outcome.

14th October 2019

I am unnaturally calm today.

I want it to be over, but I’m not frightened by it.

It will be what it will be.

I wish I could go today while I’m in this strange state of relaxation. It is weird, I’m not even smoking anything.

I had a lot of encouragement from my friends. I had a long chat with Martin, who had many suggestions to how I should deal with the interview. I politely declined that I should smash the glass partition with a baseball bat and beat the shit out of the Consular Officer. Also the idea of eating a spicy meal and venting quietly so that the interview time is drastically reduced, these, I feel would not place me in a good light for getting approved.

Even I had a message from Damian, that was like getting a sign from God, so he must listen to me sometimes.

Kelli was holding a group session of many of our friends to send some positive vibes, hoping to get a sympathetic interviewer.

My friend Rob also gave me encouragement, by saying the decision has already been made. I hope, because he had a smile on his face he was sending me a positive message.

I never like wishing my time away, but this is what I have to do, I need to get on with my life and finish what I have started.

13th October 2019

It is really difficult to not to think about the visa interview that’s coming up. With the weather being so crap, I can’t even absorb myself in any woodwork.

I went through the documents I will be taking, adding some of my financial information that might be relevant.

I have to remain confident, calm and controlled, which is easy to say.

I did more CAD work on the patio design, desperately trying to put other thoughts to the back of my mind.

Damn! I wish it was all over.

Kelli is going through the same torture, she has been so supportive, but under the surface, she is facing the same nervousness.

12th October 2019

I should have been helping Louise take her furniture pieces to the Weavers Market in Trowbridge, but as the weather was not good she decided to cancel. This was a shame because she had some cool pieces to take.

I took the chair I had repaired down later, and had a chat.

She had a difficult time at work, and had decided to hand her notice in next week. She explained the Dickensian way the business was run, with no recognition of success just criticism of failure.

Louise is a bright girl, she throws herself into whatever task she is given, and is generous with praise for others, but this job had drained her of confidence, and she needed to get out.

I was surprised that any business,like she described, could ever retain people.

She is prepared to do anything at this time, and although bookings for our Airbnb are coming in, it is not enough to provide a proper income.

However she is hopeful that a change of job will help rebuild her self confidence.