But, instead of two cats in the yard, it's two dogs.
Now that you'll be singing that song the rest of the day....
I never showed you photos of our house, did I?
When I travel, I don't really like to do the attractions. I'll do a few, but my real interest is the local people and local surroundings. What do the houses look like? What do they look like on the inside? What about stores?? And I don't mean the tourist garb, postcard kind of stores. I mean, where do locals shop for clothes, groceries and everyday items. Well, I will indulge you with pictures and a description of our little house to fulfill the voyeur in you.
We're not quite sure the age of the structure. We asked our landlord and he just said it was over a hundred years old. Not much more elaboration than that. And I know that's probably not that old to the English, but to Americans... it's pretty damned old. We tear things down and build newer and bigger without a second thought. But no matter how new or big, it can't replace the charm or history.
That said, charm is getting COLD. Along with a 100-year old structure, we have 100-year old windows. However, the interior has been recently updated and we have all the modern conveniences that a new house might have (except double-glazed windows). There are still period features that make you like the place, but then there are things like a side-by-side refrigerator that make you like it even more.
Our place is furnished almost exclusively with IKEA furnishings. Filling in with things I've picked up at other stores. We didn't ship any of our furniture from home because when looking online, most places were furnished. Leave it to us to go with one of the few that wasn't. Besides, our furniture would not have fit anyway. The rooms are much smaller and I find that big bulky, oversized pieces just don't work or fit. Going from 2,500 square feet to less than 1,000 means I got to buy all new stuff. Ikea was great because it fit the bill. Short-term and cheaper than most. Though, I must admit, I'm really impressed with the quality for the price. And I can now work a hex key like no other (I'm stealing that line from Kai). The only furniture we did ship was Will's crib and changing table. I'm so glad that we did because cribs, or cots as they are called here, are much shorter and styled differently than I had imagined his nursery.
We have what is called a semi-detached house. In Texas, it would probably be called a quadplex. Maybe in the northern states, it would also be called a house or maybe a row-house (think San Francisco or NYC), but not sure. Four houses share one roof. Well, the number varies, but in our case, it is four. Each house is individually owned, and each one has their own front and rear garden space. We are "semi" detached because our house is on the end. Also, I think it is called a house because we occupy both the lower and upper floors. I found out that a two-floor conversion (once a house, now two separate living spaces) is referred to as a flat. Detached houses are not as common, but I've noticed that a lot of the newer structures are detached. In London, detached is very rare and I'm sure for the very rich. In areas like Chiswick, what were once detached houses are mostly two-floor conversions... you know, flats.
We are enjoying our time here on the Tilt... and hope that a lot of you might get the opportunity to see our little place in person!
I'm not sure how many photos I can put on the blog, so I'm attaching a link to my flickr page:
Hi Angela,
ReplyDeleteI'm Jay's mum. We live in Norfolk, about 80 miles or so north-east from London. It's considered rural but, like everywhere, it's getting crowded. Your house is adorable; looks like it was renovated to a very high standard. Obviously, your bathroom was originally a bedroom; you don't get one that size in a newer house. And what a nice outlook, I assume that's a common across the street.
I thought I'd comment on a couple of things you talked about missing. We spent 11 years in Germany, so I can empathise with things being different to what you're used to. Large Tesco stores are usually open 24 hours and they sell just about everything! Sunday opening hours for stores are set by law - 6 hours only. Up until 20 years or so ago, nothing was allowed to be open and there was a big campaign called "Keep Sunday Special" that fought to keep it that way. (A few places such as those in tourist locations were exempt but they could be prosecuted if they sold regular groceries so if you ran out of butter or sugar on a Sunday, you were out of luck until Monday - but you could buy an ice cream!) I recently read that commercial interests are trying to get the 6 hours Sunday trading extended to the same as the other days of the week.
I'm surprised you get to keep your baby's medical records; most people never see theirs, let alone take them home!
I've never seen a separate kitchen sink sprayer over here, but depending upon the type of tap you have, you may be able to fit an attachment that swivels and lets you choose between a straight flow of water or a spray. I got mine from a mail order place called Lakeland - they have shops too. Their catalogue is full of neat gadgets and equipment.
The EU won't allow the importation of USDA beef because of the use of hormones and antibiotics, etc. British beef, because of the mad cow episode a few years ago, is now considered the safest in the world. (Saying that, I have noticed some "strange" behavior in my husband who regularly eats beef, but that could be due to advancing age!)
I hope you enjoy the experience of living here and the few differences that are left. I often feel that it would be less "Americanized" if the language were not the same but, good or bad, the British character retains its originality.
Susan Weidenbach