A very tough and eventful day updating my diminishing finances, surviving a long moulding session with the dentist, and then visiting Redgrave to see Freda letting the property deteriorate in absolute squalor.
Putting the agent Mike Smith right and then got out shooting with Jim
Another day of my new routine, even though I was a bit tired of waking at 6.50am and noting down the morning news. Breakfast with the family and out with Sam before off to the bus stop to see the girls to school.
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A good walk around the set aside near Windmill Cottage where an old running hen pheasant was too clever for Sam's quartering efforts; though he ran and quartered well.
Not much time at home before the dental appointment so I used it to update my financial summary for the end of the calendar year and found our assets to be grossly depleted by the fall in value of stocks and shares, even without the potential worry at the costs of supporting two partners for the next 30 years.
Then I loaded up and got away to Kimbolton via Wiggly's place to drop off a half dozen roses and collect my luggage left last weekend.
On to Kimbolton for the dentist, driving quickly to make up lost time but arrived safely and on time to have my tooth prepared and a temporary crown fitted and a mould prepared for the permanent job. It took ages and, though not too painful, was a very uncomfortable experience.
A long sequence of operations to take impressions of upper and lower teeth, then to file and shape the remainder of the tooth under anesthetic before taking still more impressions and then making a temporary crown and then cementing it on for use until the permanent crown is available from the dental technician.
At least the tooth did not hurt me any more after the feeling had returned and my mouth soon recovered. Then the drive towards Norfolk and had an immediate call from Wiggly who had just got back from her foreign trip and wanted to call me straight away and tell me of her experiences.
She had got on fine. Next to Redgrave and a depressing experience with Freda and the estate agent which I can barely relate for my very heart sinking as I think through it.
We met the estate agent that had been handling the sale, Mr Mike Smith and I told him that, rather than just consider other agents, we thought it best to invite him along to discuss the problems of selling the place and how to overcome them.
I suggested dividing the place up and then we hit on trying to get planning permission to build a new dwelling in the grounds. That would realise the £30,000 that would help allow the property to be sold for the £125,000 that it was now thought to be worth instead of keeping it on the market for the impossibly high price of £145-155,000 at the moment.
Whilst looking into the feasibility of dividing the property, I suggested looking round and that's when the problems unfolded.
To begin with, Freda and Alf had got this huge dog that had the looks of a boxer and the size of a Great Dane and they had let it despoil the garden within a newly-fenced area and, worse still, run within part of the house. It was a rescue dog of little or no training and it had destroyed the decorations and that part of the property stank of it.
Then the room of their son, Chris, was in utter squaller; all full of pans of cigarette buts, cans and all else such that Freda and Alf said that they do not go in it any more.
This, plus the generally poor state of decoration and appearance of the house hardly presented it in any condition to be viewed and to get good value from a purchaser.
Then, the fact of them getting this dog and fencing round the garden and the installation of a large and new greenhouse looked like the acts of a family set on longer-term occupation and cast doubt on their will to find a buyer and sell up.
I left with Mr Smith and we chatted outside for some time whilst I briefed him on my interest and we compared notes. They had not seemed to him to be in any urgent mood to sell before and he was previously unaware of my mortgage and interest.
We agreed on the negative effect of the dog and Chris's room and on the need to get them to remedy these things urgently if we were to find a buyer at any reasonable price. One of us had to speak frankly to the family and we agreed it would have to be me.
With a heavy heart, I drove on to Suton to see Jim. There Jim and Julie's children were in full voice and moaning and whining and his dogs were no better such that a person could hardly hear himself talk. We eventually got out to walk the dogs and then to go rabbit shooting after dark across the fields in the neighbouring farms.
We had a full evening walking through heavy soil as Jim tried to call foxes but we failed to find any and had to be satisfied with a hare and a rabbit which I did well to shoot.
Then Jim joined me for a trip over to Heronshaw for a night's stay where we changed and went out for a couple of drinks before turning in late to bed at the end of a wearing day.
Good news at least from Sally today who called me to say that she had spoken to John Roscoe both on the telephone and in person and had reconciled their differences and got him to agree to continue with the layout of FOCUS.