We've got the builders in.

We decided on our return to the UK that we'd stay in our former family home until the time comes for us to downsize and possible do away with stairs and a garden.

We love living in Malvern and our location is perfect, we looked around at other properties and even put an offer in one one place, but then we looked a the costs of solicitors, removal firms, stamp duty, estate agent fees plus all the work we'd want to do to personalise the new place. So we decided to stay put.

We had a new kitchen fitted last year, the guttering, drain pipes and fascias have all been replaced. We've done a couple of other repairs and we're having a single story extension built.

Before

After

Back in 2005 we converted the garage to a dining room and converted the loft to make an extra 2 bedrooms. But we've never had enough downstairs space. The conservatory was off the lounge and as the garden is North facing, it never got any sun and was too cold in the winter to use, so it's come down, a new room is off the dining room and outside the lounge doors (which are being replaced also) there will be a covered seating area.

We found these builders at a trade stand at The 3 Counties Autumn Fair in 2022. We paid £500 for plans and drawings up front and the rest is due upon completion around 4 weeks after the build starts.

Before

View from inside

View from outside

The work started while we were away, we came home to this 3 days after the work started.

We then went away for another two days and came home to this:

This was Monday.

This was Tuesday - one week on.

The work went really quickly after that, with two fitters, two plasterers and 2 electricians and on day 13 they were gone. I made the payment over the phone at 4pm, all the rubbish tidied and the skip was collected on the Monday morning.

Now the hard work begins. The plaster and the floor is still drying. Peter is in the middle of laying a new patio. The lawn has dried up a little, then it's painting, tiling the floor and moving the furniture in.

I received no compensation for the post, just want to sign post you to Dunraven for a job well done.

Week One - Project 365, FMSPHOTOADAY Snap Happy Britmums. One Daily Positive.

It's been a rough few weeks as we relocate from South Africa to Dubai, there have been more things going wrong than right. I started to blog about all the issues but it dragged me down too much.

My Facebook feed has been a mess, my whatsapp group are picking up the pieces and twitter has just really been pretty much left alone for a while.

I decided what I needed to do was to focus on the positives and look for the fun stuff in life.

I feel I've taken on way too much in regards to lining all these community groups and projects online, but it was what saved me when we moved to South Africa in 2011. Unfortunately I'm no longer contributing to these groups, it seems I moved on and there was no longer a place for me there.

This week started with me screaming at the builder at our new house and yelling at the landlady and sending endless emails to the HR department and Expat relocation firm firm hired to sort out our visas and the repairs and cleaning to the house.

I'm so tired, 2 weeks of being polite and civil got me absolutely nowhere. I felt better for yelling and then I stepped back and started to relax, enjoy Dubai and chill out a little, the work is now being done, but the timescale we were promised is out the window and instead of being in our new home with our furniture it will be another 2-3 weeks of living in a hotel.


I'm now looking forward to spending the day chilling out and relaxing, wandering around Dubai Mall, snapping at things with my new Nikon camera and this evening will select my favourite picture for #MySundayPhoto

My daily positives this week amongst all the hassles and the photo challenges were
Day 1

This is the view from my front doorstep, it is worth the effort with the landlady and builders to be able to see this every time I step out my front door. #sky #one Burg Khalifia

Day 2

After 4 years in South Africa, it is such a pleasure to be able to use public transport in Dubai, when we moved to South Africa I was housebound until we could sort out bank accounts and loans etc to be able to buy a car, so to be out and about at this stage of the relocation is wonderful #yellow #nature

Day 3

There is very little colour in Dubai, everything is beige, of course there are flowers and trees here, but they require a lot of effort and water to encourage them to flower. The positive today was to be able to take a walk from the hotel to the marina without fear. #metoday #colourful

Day 4

Ok so im cheating here, the themes were #IHear and #Metoday this was taken today outside our villa, the sound of the mosque is something beautiful to be heard even if it is a little flat and out of tune. My positive today is the shouting was worth it, the carpenter is there and the work is finally getting done