Another Lifetime to go

25th October 2019

Against my better judgment I decided to leave the safe harbour of Barrington and head up the motorway to Cribbs Causeway.

I had to do something, maybe my passport was waiting on a shelf having slipped through the net.

The DX complex was large and sprawling, it was close to John Lewis, so very easy to find. There was a security gate and a button to press. The gate opened immediately, but no one asked me my business. I parked the car in the customer space, and climbing out of the truck into the rain, I made my way to the Customer Collection door.

The room was about ten foot square, with three cheap chairs each side of the room.

On the wall opposite was a large hatch with a shallow shelf, and an electric bell with the instruction to push it to get attention.

This I did but it didn’t seem to make a sound. I pressed it again, and again but still nothing.

I thought someone viewing them cctv might notice me, but that didn’t seem to work either.

I kept getting glimpses of people, but none looked my way.

A young girl then entered the room, I explained that the bell didn’t work, but of course she had to try it for herself.

To my relief that didn’t work either, so now we were in the same boat.

I went outside to see if I could attract attention of anyone in the upstairs offices. This was a fruitless attempt as no one worked next to a window, all I managed to do was get wet.

Next a guy came out of another door heading for his car, I told him the problem, and he went back inside to tell someone of our needs.

I went back inside hoping someone would appear. More time went by, and still no sign of anyone. I looked at the sign that displayed the company logo “DX, Deliver Exactly” mmm I thought, all they were delivering was frustration.

The girl was collecting her passport from the American Embassy. She had her interview only two days ago before, so I was really pissed off.

Eventually someone appeared at the doorway, apparently she saw us on the cctv screen, and not as a result of the guy in the car park.

The girl collected her package, but I was unsuccessful, there was nothing for me ( I didn’t really expect anything) and of course they could not give me any information on who to contact. “ We don’t have any dealings with the American Embassy, we just collect” was the response I got, so once again I was non the wiser.

I tried to ring the Embassy, but they could not give me a number to ring regarding visas.

“ You’ll have to go on the web site and send an email” then hung up.

Bureaucracy really sucks.

I stopped off at the cottage to pick up a few things. New guests were expected later, so I cleaned the bathroom and kitchen.

They also wanted a fire for when they arrived. I was able to get that going before I left for the drive back to Barrington.

Kelli in the meantime had contacted her person in the Senator’s office who agreed to call the Embassy and try to speed the process up.

24th October 2019

I was left to my own devices again, as Nicola and Colin drove to Bath.

I tried to find details of the courier service that the American Embassy use to dispatch documents to their grateful visa victims.

I knew the address as an industrial estate at Cribbs Causeway, but there was no telephone number.

Searching their website I found a number which I rang, but was not recognised. This left me the choice to e-mail. Now I am waiting for a reply. This is now the hot potato, as it should be there today if the timings expressed by the Embassy are true.

23rd October 2019

I drove down to see Damian and my two grandsons. Ethan has just started a new school, so I was excited to go and collect him.

The Ballard school looks impressive, the car park had so many Range Rovers I thought it was a Dealers forecourt.

I spent many hours playing with little George who is happy just to bounce away in his chair and smiles a lot.

Ethan was his usual bundle of energy, not even a full day at school did little to slow him down.

On the way back he was fiddling with all the controls, Damian was getting annoyed that the little lad was taking no notice of him, I smiled knowingly, this is what karma looks like.

I spent time reading him a bedtime story, his unending questions and insistence to read it over and over again left me exhausted even after such a simple task.

22nd October 2019

Nicola and Colin went off to get some supplies leaving me to continue working on my patio design.

The laptop I have is old and slow. I can do a keystroke, go downstairs, make a cup of tea, climb the stairs, and it will just finish the operation.

If God used it to create the world it would be more than seven months rather than days.

I watched videos on Frank Lloyd Wright to stop me falling off to sleep.

These days seem long and fruitless, I check my emails constantly for notifications that my passport has been collected, and waiting in a courier’s depot, but so far nothing. This is the next big pressure point.

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.